UPDATE 6/3/206 5:58– Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department say the fast and middle lanes of I-64 at Institute are now opened following the tanker truck accident from Wednesday afternoon.
They did say the slow lane will remain closed until further notice.
INSTITUTE, W.Va. — A tanker truck accident is impacting traffic on I-64 at Institute.
The semi overturned headed eastbound at the foot of Institute hill just after noon. Haz-Mat crews are on the scene of the crash.
The tanker was hauling diphenylmethane diisocyanate, a chemical used to produce polyurethane foam. The chemical could be toxic if ingested. The Charleston Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team is on scene along with personnel from the Institute Fire Department.
“It’s not an occupational inhalation hazard, so not a big deal since it’s outside. But some of it got into the drain. Us, DEP, and Abbot’s Wrecker jumped in a dammed up quite a bit of it, but some got into the drains,” said Kanawha County Emergency Services Manager C.W. Sigman.
The materials once in the drain could cause problems when it solidifies and blocks the drains. Crews anticipate it will take a few hours to upright the truck to move it out of the way and reopen the interstate. Emergency officials are waiting on a cleanup crew from the company to begin removal of the material which spilled.
All east bound lanes have been closed until further notice. According to the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department east bound traffic is being diverted at the Institute exit. Kanawha County 911 reports much of the traffic is also detouring at Cross Lanes which is making the normal backup in that area even worse this afternoon.
It’s the second semi accident of the day after a crash on the Eugene A. Carter Memorial Bridge during the morning rush hour.