Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 8, 1995 TAG: 9508080074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The accident happened shortly after 1 p.m. between Milton and Barboursville when an eastbound passenger vehicle swerved across the median and into the path of the oncoming tractor-trailer, said West Virginia State Police Sgt. G.W. Reedy.
Two people were injured and taken to Cabell-Huntington Hospital, which declined to release their conditions. Their identities were withheld until their families could be notified, Reedy said.
The hazardous materials placard on the truck identified the material only as ``environmentally hazardous substances,'' ``hazardous waste'' or ``other regulated substances.'' But Anne Marie Green, spokeswoman for Roanoke County, which operated the landfill for the 11 years it was in use, confirmed that the truck was hauling fly ash.
The landfill closed in 1976.
Fly ash is small metal particles containing high levels of zinc, lead and cadmium screened out of the exhaust of steel plants. Roanoke Electric Steel dumped the ash at the landfill.
Green said the material is not harmful to people unless it contaminates drinking water or is ingested in some other way.
She said the material was being hauled to Chicago by Farmer Trucking Co., an Environmental Protection Agency contractor, for disposal in a high-temperature recovery facility. Roanoke County fought the EPA to detoxify the ash and bury it where it was dumped. The EPA won out, though, forcing the county to pay to have it hauled out of state.
The westbound lanes of I-64 were closed and traffic was temporarily routed to a side road after the accident.
Cleanup crews were dispatched by the EPA after the accident to reopen westbound lanes of I-64, Reedy said.
Staff writer Matt Chittum contributed information to this story.
by CNB