Fire, chemical leak partially shuts down Coquihalla near Hope
Posted November 28, 2017 5:21 pm.
Last Updated November 28, 2017 6:06 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HOPE (NEWS 1130) – Some 20,000 litres of phenol formaldehyde resin spilled into the ditch off the Coquihalla Highway following a semi fire northeast of Hope today.
The corrosive liquid is contained to a 40 foot stretch of ditch in a natural depression, according to BC Spill Response.
At this point, it does not appear any of the liquid got into the Coquihalla River.
“It has done to the shoulder and there’s a natural ditch adjacent to the highway where the product collected… it hasn’t gone into any sensitive environmental areas,” says Joshua Watts with Ministry of Environment.
He adds no damage has been done to the roadway itself.
The highway had to be closed in the area after the semi caught fire after 9 a.m. this morning. One southbound lane remains closed as the clean up continues, though northbound traffic is getting through.
The province says two Environmental Emergency Response Officers are on the scene, as well as a contractor hired by the party responsible for the spill.
Phenol formaldehyde resin is widely used for the production of molded products like billiard balls, laboratory counter tops, and adhesives.
