Originally published on January 10, 2014
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Four people were injured when a chemical tanker transporting industrial chemical believed to contain formaldehyde overturned on a south-bound lane of the North-South Expressway in Malaysia on Thursday (January 9), according to The Star online. The accident forced a stretch of the expressway to be temporarily closed down and traffic to be diverted to a federal road.
The accident took place at around 7:20 a.m. at KM269.8, some three kilometres from the Jelapang toll plaza. Ipoh Fire and Rescue Station chief P. Sumasivam said the lorry was carrying 23 tonnes of industrial chemical from Prai, Penang, to Kuantan when the accident happened. Those injured were sent to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital.
According to the New Straits Times, a Toyota Corolla went out of control and grazed the concrete highway divider before skidding into the left lane and crashing into the tanker and a Proton Saga car, causing the tanker to overturn.
A Hazmat (Hazardous Materials) Unit team from the Pasir Puteh Fire and Rescue Station worked to clean up the area as traffic was diverted.
“We managed to control the chemical leak easily as it’s water soluble. There’s no need to worry about any contamination. We used about 63,645.26 litres of water and foam as well to neutralise the area,” Sumasivam said.
The spilled chemical along the expressway caused motorists to suffer from eye irritation and breathing difficulty, according to the New Straits Times.
Post time: Dec-25-2016