A tractor-trailer that crashed into a creek early Monday morning along Bellbridge Road in Lincoln Borough has not yet spilled chemicals into the Monongahela River, officials said.

The truck, which was hauling about 80 drums (each 55-gallons) of a two-part epoxy chemical, drove into the stream just after 1 a.m., according to an Allegheny County release.

Officials said some of the chemicals and diesel from the truck were leaking into the creek, but were not yet in the river.

“As far as the (Department of Environmental Protection) is concerned, as of right now, nothing has made it to the Mon,” said Lincoln Borough Police Chief Richard Bosco. “That was our first concern early this morning.”

Bosco noted that, to his knowledge, the chemicals themselves, which are used to make foam insulation, turn into foam when activated by water.

“It’s not going to seep into the water, it’s actually going to turn into a solid. That’s what I’ve been told, it will foam up and turn into a foam,” he said. “The primary concern more than anything is the diesel from the truck. As of everybody’s best guess at this point, nothing has made it that far (to the Mon) yet.”

Incident report

County officials said 911 received a call from the driver of the truck saying his tractor-trailer left the road and went into a ravine in the woods near the bottom of Bellbridge. The roadway winds down a hill that connects Liberty Way and Lincoln Boulevard.

Local police, fire and EMS were dispatched to the scene, arriving at 1:13 a.m. The driver was pulled from the cab and told responders that his truck’s brakes had given out.

The driver suffered minor injuries and was transported to a local hospital.

Cleanup process

An Allegheny County Hazardous Materials team was called to the scene and set up collection dams to gather the leaking chemicals. Environmental cleanup company First Call Environmental was on the scene by 6:40 a.m. working on containing the spill.

“They have two sets of reservoirs set up to capture (the chemicals),” Bosco said. “They have a primary and they have a secondary to catch anything that does get through the primary.”

Officials said the chemicals present no air or fire hazards.

“They are working with the cleanup company to get the material out of the stream bank” said Shawn Staley of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Bellbridge has been closed from Lincoln Boulevard/Route 51 to Lincoln Way. Chief Bosco said the road would be closed until the truck was removed from the creek.

Around 10 a.m., Lincoln fire chief Jeff Bertok said the road would likely be closed “for a while yet.”

“They have to get each barrel out of there, and then they have to get the truck out,” he said. “The trailer part is done, but the cab and all the barrels (are still there). That’s what they are working on now.”

Cleanup for the chemicals could potentially take some time, Bosco said.

“Depending on the structural integrity of each individual barrel, if they can dig them all up out of there, and they pretty much stay intact, they could be done in a matter of a couple of hours,” he said. “If they have to be taken out in pieces, it could be a two-day operation. Because of the fragility of the barrels, it’s not an easy calculation at this point.”

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