[UPDATE 7:36 p.m.: Good News!] Hwy 101 Closed South of Bell Springs Road in Mendocino County After Big Rig Crashes, Spills Chemicals
A spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol confirmed that a big rig carrying chemicals crashed on Hwy 101 south of Bell Springs Road about 5:15 a.m.. There was a hazardous waste spill. Hwy 101 is completely closed. There is no estimated time of opening.
Recently retired Laytonville Fire Chief Sue Carberry told us northbound traffic is being directed to Branscomb Road to the coast then north up Hwy 1 to Leggett and southbound traffic is being redirected using the same route.
Details are skimpy at this point as the area is remote and cell phone/as well as radio access is difficult.
The CHP Traffic Incident Information Page reports that the truck was hauling corrosives and is now leaking.
The Governor’s Office Emergency Services Hazardous Materials Spill Report states that about five gallons of a Hydroxide sodium (peroxide phosphoric acid and soduium hydroxide) solution spilled. The report said that a “freight truck overturned at the listed location due to unknown reasons. The incident resulted in a chemical spill to the roadway. The CHP and the local fire department are on-scene. No fires or injuries were reported and no waterways were impacted. The release has been stopped and the owner is en route to assist with the cleanup.”
The same report says that at first the “[reporting person] stated that there are two 28 foot box trailers that are carrying 475 pounds of Organic Peroxide, 578 pounds of Phosphoric Acid, and 2 drums at 1056 pounds of Sodium Hydroxide which is the only one actively leaking at this time. It is not leaking into any storm drains or waterways.”
The driver is uninjured and is not suspected of a DUI, according to the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page.
Please remember that information gathered from initial reports is subject to revision as more facts become available.
UPDATE 10:15 a.m.: Bell Springs Road is closed “1/2 mile north of Hwy 101,” according to the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page.
UPDATE 10:47 a.m.: Caltrans reports,
TRAFFIC ALERT: US Highway 101 *CLOSED * both directions south of Leggett and north of Laytonville in Mendocino County(post mile 81) due to overturned semi carrying hazardous materials. HazMat team on site.
— Caltrans District 1 (@CaltransDist1) March 26, 2022
No estimate time for reopening. Check https://t.co/dhQ8ZIyPGN for updates. pic.twitter.com/RRuFt7nRGe
UPDATE:
UPDATE 3:46 p.m.: The closure of Highway 101 persists this afternoon. The CHP Traffic Incident Information Page indicates crews have actively been working to remediate the hazardous material situation throughout the day.
A first responder at the scene told us 9:00 p.m. is the speculated time the highway will reopen, but that has not been corroborated by any officials, but the CHP Incident page does mention the reopening occurring this evening.
Please remember that information gathered from initial reports is subject to revision as more facts become available.
UPDATE 6:42 p.m.: Caltrans reported that “US Hwy 101 will open at approximately 7 pm tonight to one-way controlled traffic. Traffic will be backed up for a while and crews are still cleaning up. Please Slow down and proceed with caution.”
UPDATE 7:36 p.m.: Good news! According to Jacob Whitney, a resident near Bell Springs, “Plenty” of traffic is now moving through on Hwy 101 in both directions.
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I would not want to be driving on Branscomb Rd west of Branscomb or that Rt 1 up to Leggett with all these amateurs and rookies!! I would just go to Boomers or The Peg House and wait it out, read a book for a little, enjoy life…
How does 5 gallons possibly take over 5hrs to clean up?? They got the three stooges on the cleanup scene.
Trumpster sez: “Hold my beer. I can get this shit cleaned up in no time! I don’t care what the chemical interactions would be! Just hose it off the road!” ?
Chronic TDS is detrimental to one’s mental health…
Love of con men is detrimental to everyone’s health
Similar to how democratic policy has been to detrimental to the state of California
Spot on. Democrat policies have destroyed California…
Yes, “TDS” IS detrimental to a person’s mental health. When someone believes Trump’s lies for so long they end up not knowing which end is up. The next thing you know they think Trump’s lies and treason, divisive insults and immorality are more important than America, democracy, and the truth. That’s when you know TDS has taken another Trump supporter.
Haha ? biden destroyed this country faster in his 1st yr than trump did in 4yrs, and after just 1 yr biden is now more openly hated than trump ever was. Like I said democratic ideals destroyed the state of California to the point everyone’s leaving and now moving to red states so I can’t find any validation in what your attempting to say…
Spot on. Bumbling Biden is down to a 36% approval rating…
Your post is completely untrue and fabricated…Chronic hate is a terrible thing, especially when the POTUS has been out of office for 16 months. Enjoy your $7.00/gallon gas and rampant inflation. Under Trump we were energy independent and exporting gas and oil.
you have been lied to. In 2021 the US imported 170,700 barrels of oil. The last year we imported lower than that was in 1989. trump made deals with Russia allowing the world market to get flooded which lowered the barrel to 30 dollars at one point. read it for yourself. This is the US census data to 1973. We have been importing and exporting about the same for a long time. We export most of the US oil because it cost more to refine than what we import.
https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/historical/petr.pdf
You have been lied. In 2018 because of trump US energy exports exceeded imports for the 1st time in 75yrs, and in 2017 carbon emissions were the lowest they’ve been in 25yrs. In 2021 this country went full retard on covid, trump tried fighting it, then biden came along and quite literally destroyed EVERYTHING instantly. Now 1yr later his approval rating went down the drain and is the most openly hated president of my lifetime.
Spot on…
Now who was POTUS is 2021? Biden is making a deal to buy Iranian oil to replace the sanctioned Russian oil and Russia is the broker on the deal…So two of our worst enemies are working together with Biden to purchase Iranian oil, when we were completely energy independent when Trump left office. That’s insane and hypocritical… Biden destroyed 100,000 American energy jobs placating his leftist base when we desperately need a secure supply of oil now more than ever…
it seems like both of you don’t like actual information. the census data is real actual data on how many barrel a year the US imports. it doesn’t have a CNN or FOX slant. its hard to respond when you refuse to research the topic. Once again, we don’t refine our crude because the profit margin isn’t high enough. the more the US Oil companies export, means the more money US oil companies make, this isn’t a government run industry. and once again, you have been lied to and intentional misled. if you read my comment you would realize that the US imported the lowest amount of oil in 30 years in the year 2021. who was president – Biden. but in all fairness the lower demand in 2021 was covid related, if you consider people like truckers and forklift operators not wanting to work covid related. i call it a lame excuse to be lazy.
You mean trumps last few months of office… when the whole world went full retard on covid. Currently gas is $7 a gallon here, $4.50 everywhere else and as of today bidens draining our strategic oil reserves meant for wartime use more than anyone ever has, and this is his 3rd time tapping into it. 1.5 years and he already drained our oil reserves by almost 50%. FJB!
That’s merely hyperbole from our biased and corrupt media and and not very original at that. Glad to see you enjoy $7.00 per gallon gasoline…It will be $10.00 soon. Bumbling Biden destroyed America in only a year…We agree on one point. Nothing is more important than America, democracy, and the truth.
Rite, its all about the money, I think you can buy this shit and any grow store. Half the people on the call probably smoking weed grown with chemicals.
Just like all the produce they eat or feed that their farm raised animals eat…
Most of the first responders working the call aren’t being paid. All day on a Saturday, starting at 5am, they’re standing by to protect the life and safety of strangers. Missing valuable family time with their loved ones. The fact that you chose to claim they are “smoking weed grown with chemicals” is not only degrading, but downright toxic. I hope next time you call 911 for help, no one shows up.
40 years ago it would have taken 5 minutes to push the wreck off the road,and a good hour to dig a hole and bury it. Now we have to examine it, write a full report, contact appropriate personnel, get approval to move forward, plan a 6 month clean up , then meticulously clean up every tiny bit and transport it to a different hole in the ground, I mean a certified hazmat landfill. Crack me up, some call this forward progress, I call it dumb. OMG , the chemicals could mix ,omg
Forty years ago this toxic shit didn’t exist and wasn’t transported, but other than that what kinds of bullshit can you share.
You got me rolling, been making this sheet for a century and transporting it. The 83 percent just didn’t know it and didn’t have a clue how they cleaned it up. Crack me up, ask any ole tow truck driver, logger, mechanic etc from 50 years ago ,they’ll tell you how they dealt with hazmat. I’ve seen all kinds of hazmat cleanups ,in this state and other states, they’re a joke.
Your a bit off there deadman…
Hydrogen peroxide first produced in 1818
Phosphoric acid discovered 1770
Sodium hydroxide discovered 1807
and it wasn’t until 1965 that the Chemical Manufacturing Association admitted in court that they were not only aware but previously documented a direct link to cancer of certain chemicals back in the 20s and 30s. they never said anything until they were sued, but I bet the ones in knowledge kept their kids away from it. its kindly like why old rich people liked the crust cut off their bread, they knew how many rats.
Sheesh It doesn’t take a genius to realize you shouldn’t consume drain cleaner, or eat fertilizers ect… this was common knowledge and wasn’t the generation eating tide pods
you should look at the commercial where they were spraying kids on a beach with DDT while they were playing with smiles on their faces in the 50s.
It was over 750 gallons of other haz material that spilled
It will be very interesting to get the facts on this accident and how it happened. I am happy the driver is not hurt. Sure made a mess of chemicals!
Where do they use chemicals like that?
Sodium hydroxide is lye. Phosphoric acid is used in a lot of stuff, from MaxSea fertilizer to coca cola. Without the paper mill up there, I’m at a loss as to who else would use them all. I thought a chemical wholesaler somewhere in Oregon, but why travel 101 over 5? Peroxide was used a lot in the paper mill. In high concentrations, as an oxidizer, it was said it could set the asphalt on fire if spilled.
I thought a chemical wholesaler somewhere in Oregon, but why travel 101 over 5? Peroxide was used a lot in the paper mill.
Yeah this. The only pulp mills on the Oregon coast are in Toledo, west of Newport, though now that I think about it, there might be one in the Coos Bay area. I could be wrong about that, but almost all the paper/pulp mills in Oregon are in the Willamette Valley and south, all of which are near I-5.
Reedsport
That’s now a big flat empty field looking to be developed. Unless there is another besides the Gardiner one. It’s been gone for a couple of decades. Gardiner is a cute little hillside village now,
edited: It closed in ’99 and was torn down in 2006.
The pulp mills in Coos Bay and Toledo have been closed for over 20 years now. The chips you see in Coos Bay are all shipped to Japan.
Toledo is still open.
Sodium Hydroxide AKA Caustic Soda PH 14 is an extremely strong base used in cleaning industrial equipment such as beer making equipment at micro breweries. In small quantities it can be neutralized with Vinegar which is a mildly acidic just as a strong acid can be neutralized with a mild base such as baking soda. Extremely hazardous to humans, can cause burns and lung damage. The Hydrogen peroxide is an oxidizer and extremely flammable. My Chemistry teacher called it Boom Boom. This is a very hazardous spill and I am sure the hazmat team is exeraizing extreme caution
Sodium Hydroxide doesn’t necessarily have a pH of 14. Remember, pH is a measure of the concentration of H+ in a solution. A dilute sodium hydroxide solution may have a pH just above neutral.
Mixing an organic acid like vinegar (or really any acid) with sodium hydroxide in the presence of an organic peroxide is a recipe for disaster.
Peroxides themselves aren’t necessarily inherently flammable either. Peroxides are oxidizers. Organic peroxides, like other organic compounds, can act as a fuel when given sufficient energy. The substance being shipped is almost certainly an aqueous solutions that would not be flammable or particularly susceptible to decomposition. Calling it flammable misstates the hazard. The presence of an oxidizer is the hazard here.
The Russians use highly concentrated Hydrogen Peroxide to power their space rockets. It adds needed oxygen to the fuel on board in order to magnify the thrust power. Even in oxygen-less space, H2O2 can provide the oxygen needed for combustion and thrust needed to move or reposition spacecraft out there. That said, this is what I recall from seconds of research.
You are describing an oxidizer, not a flammable compound. Hydrogen peroxides is also not an organic peroxide, it is inorganic. Organic peroxides present a hazard unique from inorganic peroxides in that, in addition to being an oxidizer, organic peroxides can thermally decompose and the organic component of the peroxide can be ignited by the heat of the decomposition. This results in a runaway reaction and violent fire. That said, organic peroxides being shipped around here in this volume are likely very dilute (think pulp mill waste) and the water in such a solution acts to absorb energy, preventing a runaway reaction.
It may also be waste material being removed from a decommissioned site like an old mill, but I agree, it is curious.
I was wondering about that myself.
Looking it up, it seems that Organic peroxides are used as cleaning or bleaching agents (used to bleach flour even)? Phosphoric Acid is used in fertilizers, soap, toothpaste, Coca Cola, al kinds of things.
And then,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hydroxide#Uses
I think I should have paid more attention in chemistry class. 🙂
In the ganja everybody is smoking
Which explains a lot!!!
Any update on the road closure? We are heading to Kelseyville for a BB game. Any suggestions on the best route??
Looks like the locals on Bell Springs Rd. have a rifle stop preventing you from traveling on a publicly maintained road, so you’ll be stuck with going to hwy 1 at Leggett and around.
It’s definitely not a publicly maintained road, too many people get stuck and stranded in their little cars not knowing the road.
Bells Springs is a public thoroughfare and is the official 101 alternate when deemed safe to travel by a CHP recon, done day of need for an alternate route.
What is a local rifle stop?
What is a road rifle stop? Is somebody using a rifle to stop people from using Bell Springs Rd?
Thanks Steve…I have a cousin on Bell Springs Road I need to visit soon…
No one has a “Rifle stop”. The accident is 100 feet south of Bell Springs rd. Going up Bell Springs isn’t going to help you get around the accident. The road takes you north, not south. Don’t be rediculous.
The accident looks like it occurred on a fairly straight section of 101 so I wonder what caused it.
Looks like rear axle hanging kind of low on left side, spring maybe broke, ubolts loose , track arm broke. That would be the worst axle to lose. Peace out, power on , keep injecting yourselves with these chemicals. Drugs do the body good, but for heavens sake don’t drive over them.
Does anyone know if you can drive South on 101 from Branscomb Rd?
Yes, once you leave Hwy 1 north of Westport and head east, Branscomb Road leads you to Laytonville and Hwy 101.
Thanks Kym!
Bonehead truckers will have the detour messed up soon.
No they are not permitted as p let the smaller trailers are allowed on the 101 they are to long for that rose legally.
So glad to read that no one was injured…
“105-S4 REQ ALL IN ONE TO BE ENRT // HAS BEEN ASSESSED // FUELD TANKS HAVE BEEN PUMPED OUT BY HAZMAT // SHOULD BE DONE TONIGHT AROUND 2100 HRS // ONCE THE TRUCK AND TRLR ARE REMOVED WE CAN HAEV ONE WAY TRAFFIC CONTROL IN PLACE”
Pretty eerie, 101 empty. Sunday morn is likely to be on the busy side.
Caltrans’ website updates leave a lot to be desired. When they exist at all.