Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:
Barrington and Lake Zurich are demanding in a federal lawsuit that a Canadian trucking firm replace gear they say was ruined during cleanup of a hazardous chemical that spilled after a fiery crash last year.
Westbound Northwest Highway near Hart Road in Barrington was closed for three days while hazardous materials crews cleaned the area after a Xan Systems Inc. semitrailer truck rear-ended a pickup truck March 7, causing the chemical spill.
The truck driver initially reported the substance that spilled was vegetable oil. Several hours later Xan Systems told officials it was methylene diphenyl diisocycanate. Barrington and Lake Zurich firefighters who worked the scene did not wear protective gear under belief they were handling vegetable oil.
Barrington and Lake Zurich seek more than $75,000 in damages to cover the equipment and cleanup costs.
“As a direct and proximate result of the gear and equipment exposure to methylene diphenyl diisocycanate, the gear and equipment were rendered unusable and without value,” according to the lawsuit.
#1 by BMurphy on January 28, 2018 - 11:08 AM
Below is a link to MSDS data for MDI. Common stuff, so it’s not a stretch to say that it may be rolling through your district. Never believe anything you’re told or initially provided about what’s in a vehicle until you get trustworthy verification or can ID it with your own resources, and treat all unknown materials like they will kill you. Which a whole bunch of them can do, in a lot of horrible ways.
http://specialty-products.com/pdf/msds/foam/MDI-I%20MSDS.pdf
#2 by FFPM571 on January 27, 2018 - 10:01 PM
Falsification of documents on a Haz mat load is a criminal offense and hopefully the ICC/State police are pursuing that. This left a lot of people exposed to a toxic chemical that they were under the guidance of the Bill of lading as it was listed as Vegetable oil. These shippers knew exactly what it was and were skirting the law.
#3 by Chuck on January 27, 2018 - 8:47 PM
The trucker had incorrect paperwork on this load. The stuff literally melted the roadway. Worse yet, not knowing what was in the trailer, the towing company dragged the leaking trailer up to their yard in Crystal Lake leaking all the way.
#4 by Meg on January 27, 2018 - 8:11 PM
Or is it the cost of doing business when shipping hazardous materials???
#5 by Mike on January 27, 2018 - 7:26 PM
Dan when it comes to hazmat we have a law in Illinois that says spiller pays for any and all damage caused during the incident.
#6 by Dan on January 27, 2018 - 4:05 PM
Isn’t that the cost of doing business as a fire dept.?