By Rachelle Gines Staff Writer
Gilroy – Environmental crews finished cleaning up a chemical spill Wednesday afternoon, at the California Highway Patrol truck scales off southbound Highway 101, the CHP said.
Gilroy Fire Department Division Chief Clay Bentson said an official at the scales noticed a leak coming from one of two trailers attached to a truck after midnight Tuesday. The truck was carrying 55 gallons of chemicals.
Fire officials responded minutes later, Bentson said. No one was injured, no one was evacuated and no roads were closed, Bentson said.
The spill did not pose that much of a threat, CHP Sgt. George Gori said.
“It was not a big deal, but we just had to follow certain procedures,” Gori said.
The leak was acrylic resin, a flammable substance, Bentson said. Although it was determined that the spill did not harm anyone he said it is always necessary to take precautions with unknown materials.
“A chemical of unknown release could be toxic,” Bentson said. “The fire department’s goal is to determine what the leak was and make sure it wasn’t a hazard.”
After the leak was discovered, scale officials at the weigh station led the truck to the isolated area. An environmental clean-up team then arrived at 4am, complete with breathing devices and fully enclosed suits to clean up the site.
Bentson said fire crews stayed at the scene until 6am, a total of about six hours.
“It’s been a long night. I’m running on empty,” Bentson said. “I got just one hour of sleep.”
Rachelle Gines is an intern attending San Francisco State University. Reach her at 847-7158 or rg****@************ch.com.
