TRUCK SPILLS CHEMICALS INTO SWAMP CLOSES INTERSTATE in NEW ORLEANS

Truck crash closes I-10 in eastern N.O.

[link to blog.nola.com]
Posted by The Times-Picayune October 20, 2007 9:32AM
A truck carrying 225 cylinders of a highly flammable gas overturned early Saturday in eastern New Orleans, blocking Interstate 10 in both directions.

Contributed photo | J. Steve MartinGas cylinders litter the highway as other cylinders explode in flames after a truck overturned Saturday morning on Interstate 10 in New Orleans East.
Traffic to and from the north shore is being diverted via Highway 11 and Highway 90, according to Louisiana State Police.

Vehicles traveling toward Slidell must exit I-10 at Michoud Boulevard, then head east on Highway 90 -- also called Chef Menteur Highway -- and link to Highway 11, which passes through Irish Bayou, then crosses Lake Pontchartrain and connects with Old Spanish Trail, which intersects the interstate at Exit 263.

As of 5 p.m., the westbound lanes were open, police said. Officials could not estimate when the eastbound lanes would open.

The blaze ignited around 5:50 a.m., when the 18-wheel, flatbed truck flipped over while heading east toward Slidell. It smashed through the guard rail, crossed the grassy median and landed on its side in the westbound land, scattering its gas-filled cylinders on the pavement.

A dozen cylinders exploded in the two hours after the crash, said Michael Williams of the New Orleans Fire Department. Each held 425 cubic feet of acetytene, a highly flammable chemical used in welding.

Firefighters let the first cylinders burn out, he said, then moved in with pumper and water tanker trucks to drown the rest, averting a possible chain reaction that would have intensified the blaze.

At least 40 firefighters and 19 emergency vehicles responded, he said. The American Red Cross of Southeast Louisiana was on the scene providing food and cold drinks to rescue workers, the agency reported.

Williams said parts of the road and swamp had burned and that some cylinders had ended up in the marsh. Hazardous materials workers were on the scene, he said.