Hazmat Situation Is Forcing Residents In One State To Stay Inside And Turn Off All Heat And Air
A truck transporting nitric acid crashed on I-10 in Tuscon, Arizona, and caused a hazmat situation that has forced residents to shelter indoors and turn off their heat and air conditioning systems.
The hazmat situation in Tucson is worsening as people are asked to stay inside and turn off both air conditioning and heating. On Tuesday in the early afternoon, a truck carrying liquid nitric acid was involved in an accident on Interstate 10 in Tucson. Due to the nature of the accident, it subsequently caused a hazmat situation.
Nitric acid is highly corrosive and can cause many unpleasant side effects, including pulmonary oedema, bronchitis and, at high concentrations, fatal. Law enforcement quickly shut down the interstate once the leak was found and started mass evacuations of the area. Anyone who could not leave the area was told to stay inside and not use air conditioning or heat until told otherwise.
But just over twenty-four hours later, the hazmat situation was over, the interstate was re-opened to travellers, and the evacuated citizens were allowed to return home and heat their homes.
A press conference was held in Tucson two days after the accident to discuss the details of the hazmat situation, where several pieces of information were discovered. The driver’s identity was confirmed as Rick Immel. He was 54 years old and from Nevada. There were no other passengers within the truck, just Immel’s support dog Riley, a miniature schnauzer. After the accident, his dog went missing, but law enforcement has confirmed that she was found and reunited with her family.
Immel was driving to Theodore, Alabama, in his own 18-wheeler truck. While he was the owner of the truck, he was leasing his truck and services to a company called Landstar. The truck itself had a huge cargo onboard before the accident. It was carrying 40,000 pounds of liquid nitric acid, which equates to more than 20 tons.
The DPS has confirmed that no law was broken in the moments leading up to this accident. Immel had not been impaired by alcohol or other substances and was also not speeding. The DPS believed that a medical emergency occurred during this trip which unfortunately caused a huge hazmat situation. This opinion was confirmed by witness accounts stating that the truck gradually rolled off the road instead of making a sudden move. The DPS said that this type of crash is usually down by a medical emergency or the driver had fallen asleep.
It is also important to note that any drivers that passed the crash before the road was closed should not be affected by nitric acid exposure as the exposure was not long enough. If you think you may have been exposed to nitric acid, the acute symptoms include a burning sensation, dry nose and throat, cough, chest pain and difficulty breathing. Please see a healthcare professional if you are experiencing any of these symptoms.
It took over twenty different agencies to keep the community of Tucson safe until the hazmat situation was cleaned up. Sometimes unforeseen circumstances can bring a community together. While it was a scary situation for the citizens of Tucson, it could have been so much worse if people weren’t so quick to act.
