The transportation of molten aluminium over the roadway is a common activity that is conducted around the world. Throughout the world condition and quality of the roadways varies from concrete highway to dirt roads. The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog has a recent story where the weather and condition of the road may have been a factor in this incident.
A road is not expected to open until
later this afternoon, August 23, 2015 as authorities continue to work the scene
of an overturned truck that spilled its cargo — approximately 35,000 pounds of
molten aluminum — into a ditch on the side of the highway. Traffic near the
border of St. Clair and Shelby Counties has been rerouted away from the
accident site, just outside the entrance to Beaver Creek Offroad Park in
Vincent, since early this morning.
Authorities reported the accident
occurred between 3-4 a.m. when a tour bus towing a trailer exited the Park
heading north on US 231. The driver of the tractor-trailer carrying the
aluminum was traveling south when the tour bus allegedly entered his lane.
The truck driver told first responders
he swerved to miss the bus, sliding the right side of the truck into the ditch.
It rolled onto its side, spilling a stream of silver metal into the grass.
“He told us it was either destroy the
bus or hit the ditch,” New London Volunteer Firefighter said.
New London was first to respond to the
call at 3:40 a.m. with five firefighters, Fire Chief said. Firefighters
immediately called for assistance from departments in Vincent and Pell City.
On scene, the Fire Chief said the
aluminum coated much of the truck’s side and had caught fire in several places.
Tires on the trailer burst from the heat. Firefighters also tended to a sedan
that was involved in the wreck, landing in a ditch down the road.
A manager with the trucking company,
confirmed the truck was on a delivery for the company and that the driver
escaped the truck safely. No injuries were reported in the accident.
The aluminum was not harmful to the
environment, and that it would be fully cleaned up once it cooled. Around 10
a.m., crews began using a large digger to break up the hardened metal and load
it into a dump truck. A representative from the Alabama Department of
Environmental Management (ADEM) was at the scene to oversee procedures but declined
comment.
According to The Aluminum Association,
molten aluminum Molten Aluminum is handled at approximately 1,300-1,450 degrees
Fahrenheit.
“Contact with molten aluminum can cause
severe burns and create a serious fire hazard,” aluminum.org reads. “Mixing water or other
contaminants with molten aluminum can cause explosions.”
The fire chief said this was the case
at the accident site, as explosions occurred along the 150-foot trail of
aluminum as is traveled the ditch.
The accident coincides with one of
Beaver Creek’s largest annual events — Dirty Fest. This year, the event, billed
as a mud race and music festival, attracted 1,500 according to organizers.
However, authorities on scene expressed
concern with the three-day event’s affect on the highway. For approximately a quarter
mile on US 231 in both directions from the Park, the asphalt was caked in 1-2
inches of slick mud.
The fire chief said prior to the spill,
New London was called out to the site twice on Saturday, August 22, once for a
medical call and once for a disturbance. He said he noticed the buildup then
and worried about the forecast.
“I told the other Fire Chief, ‘If it
rains, we’re in for a real mess,’” he said. Freight Management’s Broom commented
on the road’s condition as well, saying, “this mud definitely didn’t help”
while describing the accident and his driver’s ability to retain control of the
truck.
A crew from Division 3 of the Alabama
Department of Transportation (ALDOT) arrived around 10 a.m., and the supervisor
immediately dispatched his crew back to Blount County to collect equipment to
clean the road. He indicated that it could take hours to return the equipment
and properly clear the highway.
The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog is glad
that no one suffered any injuries. No doubt this incident could have easily
turned deadly.
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