NEWS RELEASE
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Contact: Karen Eubanks, Public Information Officer |
| October 17, 2000 | (503) 642-0350 |
(Overturned Semi-Truck Closes Teton Road)
An accident resulting in an overturned semi-truck closed Teton Road in the city of Tualatin for most of the day Tuesday. Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched to the 19400 block of Teton Road at 10:42 a.m. after the Washington County 9-1-1 center received reports of an overturned truck at that location.
On their arrival, firefighters found the semi-truck on its side, leaking diesel from a damaged fuel tank. The driver and sole occupant of the truck, identified as Robert Simon of Portland, was extricated from the truck’s cab by firefighters and taken to Oregon Health Sciences University by Metro West Ambulance, where he was treated for minor injuries and expected to be released later this evening.
Firefighters quickly determined that the truck was carrying an environmentally hazardous product identified as "KD100C." The product, which contains 5% potassium ferricyanide, is used to polish silicon wafers in the high-tech industry. At the time of the accident, the truck was carrying a dozen large containers of the liquid compound, each of which held 330 gallons of product. Unsure if any of the containers had been damaged and were leaking, TVF&R’s Hazardous Materials Response Team was dispatched to the scene. Using chemical monitors and visually inspecting the containers within cargo box, it was determined that it was highly unlikely that there was a chemical leak. Due to the low concentration of cyanide in the solution and the fact that the containers appeared intact, emergency responders then turned their attention to safeguarding the environment while attempting to right the trailer. Tualatin Public Works and Unified Sewerage Agency assisted firefighters with constructing a 12-inch high dirt dike and placing plastic sheeting over nearby storm drains to contain any potentially spilled product during
the righting effort. Crews from Hillsboro Towing and Bullock Enterprises then attempted to right the trailer through a combination of towing cables and large inflatable airbags placed under the damaged trailer. The attempt was unsuccessful due to the weight of the dozen chemical containers now lying on the right side of semi-truck’s damaged cargo box.With crews unable to safely right the trailer, it was decided to utilize TVF&R’s Technical Rescue Team to cut the top off the cargo box and, using a crane, lift each individual container out of the cargo box for transfer to another semi-truck. NW Firefighters Environmental was called to the scene to assist with the transfer process.
The incident initially resulted in the closure of Teton Road between Tualatin-Sherwood and Herman Road, affecting access to some 30 businesses. Once it was determined that the chemical posed little to no risk health risk, Teton road was opened to Manhassett Road for local business traffic. As a precautionary measure, the 65 employees of Delta Engineering, a plating business located closest to the scene, were asked to remain indoors while crews attempted to upright the truck.
With the exception of the Hazardous Materials Team , which stayed on site to assist NW Firefighters Environmental, emergency crews cleared the scene at 6:00 p.m.
Tualatin Police responded to perform traffic control and investigate the accident and are investigating what caused the truck, operated by Five Star Consolidation Services, to overturn.
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