[There is a massive hazardous spill fully blocking westbound I-780 lanes near the East 2nd Street exit. The closure is at East 2nd Street with traffic diverted off at 5th Street. Scroll down past the NBC post to see Benicia PD’s Facebook post regarding the incident. BPD has also reported that the liquid asphalt is entering a highway culvert, possibly on its way to Benicia storm drains, and we’ll follow up on that s we can. Benicia residents, folks picking up kids from Benicia schools, commuters – be warned, be safe and please find alternate routes home. ]
Overturned tanker truck spills asphalt across westbound I-780, injuries reported
Initial reports from a California Highway Patrol incident information page said “6,000 gallons of hot asphalt oil slurries” spilled onto the freeway.
KRON4, by Alex Baker, August 6, 2023 (as of 12 pm)
An overturned tanker truck collision resulting in injuries occurred on I-780 near 2nd Street in Benicia Wednesday morning. The truck has spilled asphalt across the westbound lanes, according to a Sig Alert.
The truck that overturned was hauling 6,000 gallons of hot asphalt. All lanes are currently blocked. The California Highway Patrol said no one was hurt in the crash, which happened just before 9:30 a.m.
The tanker ended up leaking across all the lanes of the westbound I-780 and on the right embankment of the freeway and into a ditch.
Environmental regulators have been called to assess whether any of the substance has reached local waterways. At least one resident asked authorities if the substance hit her fence.
All traffic is being diverted off the freeway at Fifth Street. The CHP is asking people to avoid the area while the cleanup is ongoing Wednesday afternoon. There is no estimate for when the highway will reopen.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
Keep reading, there’s more.
Here’s another amazing photo, this time from the folks at NBC that shows the spill from the NBC chopper:
Westbound I-780 in Benicia is closed at East 5th Street due to a semi-truck turnover and hazardous materials spill. Please take alternate routes. It is expected to be closed for an extended period of time.
At approximately 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday, September 6th, the Benicia Fire Department responded to a report of a semi-truck turnover. Upon arrival, firefighters found that the semi-truck had been transporting 6,000 gallons of hot asphalt tar in two 3,000 gallon trailers. Both asphalt tar trailers ruptured. The product spilled across the westbound lanes of I-780 along the shoulder and into the culvert. One patient was transported to a local hospital.
Benicia Fire Department, Benicia Police Department, Solano County Environmental Health, California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Caltrans, and California Highway Patrol have responded.
For more information, contact Della Olm, Benicia Fire Public Information Officer at dolm@ci.benicia.ca.us or 707-746-4272.
The refinery is seen from Interstate Highway 680. (Shutterstock / Frankie WO)
BENICIA, CA — Personnel with the Benicia Fire Department were monitoring an oil sheen reported Tuesday by the Valero Benicia Refinery in Sulphur Springs Creek.
The refinery notified the fire department that at 2:50 p.m. Tuesday, a sheen from an unknown type of oil was spotted in the waters of the creek, Benicia Fire Department officials said.
“Valero Benicia Refinery commenced mitigation efforts at 3:20 p.m.,” fire officials said. “The sheen has been contained and proper clean up, notification and mitigation procedures were underway.”
The incident was not a threat to drinking water or public safety although fire personnel will continue to monitor the situation and will update the public if conditions change, fire officials said.
According to a hazardous materials spill report issued by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, Valero Energy discovered the sheen at 2:50 p.m. Tuesday. The cause of the Petroleum sheen was not known, nor had the source been determined. Refinery personnel contained the sheen by deploying a boom; cleanup was underway and an investigation was ongoing.
RICHMOND, Calif. (KGO) — The Chevron refinery in Richmond is investigating an oil spill Tuesday afternoon, according to city and county officials.
The spill happened in what’s called the “Long Wharf” off Point Richmond, where a sheen can be seen on the top of the water at Bear Point.
California’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) says a pipeline is leaking approximately five gallons a minute. It’s unknown what caused the spill at this time.
Crews are trying to stop the leak, which “has not been stopped and is not contained with waterways impacted (San Francisco Bay),” according to OES officials.
The Contra Costa Health Department is calling this a “Level 2” incident and issued a public health advisory for residents of Richmond, North Richmond and San Pablo.
The incident “could affect individuals with respiratory sensitivities,” health officials said.
While noting most people will not be affected, officials say eye, skin, nose or throat irritation may be possible for some people in the affected area.
Health officials advise that if people experience any irritation, they should go inside and rinse any irritated area with water.
KIMA News Yakima, by LISA BAUMANN | Associated Press, Wednesday, December 23, 2020
BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — Federal and local authorities were investigating a fiery oil car train derailment north of Seattle near where two people were arrested last month and accused of attempting a terrorist attack on train tracks to disrupt plans for a natural gas pipeline.
Seven train cars carrying crude oil derailed and five caught fire Tuesday, sending a large plume of black smoke into the sky close to the Canadian border. There were no injuries in the derailment about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Seattle
Officials were asked about recent attempts to sabotage oil trains, but they said the investigation was just beginning.
“We’ve not been able to get close enough to the site to make an evaluation,” Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo said late Tuesday.
Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board along with the FBI and other federal, state and local agencies were on the scene.
During a news conference Wednesday, officials spoke about their disaster planning they had done to prepare for incidents similar to what occurred with the train derailment. They also spoke about how the impact of the derailment to the surrounding environment could have been worse.
“As far as crude oil derailments and fires, this could not have occurred in a better location with regard to minimizing environmental impact,” said David Byers, who manages disaster response for the Washington Department of Ecology.
Last month federal authorities in Seattle charged two people with a terrorist attack on train tracks, saying they placed “shunts” on Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks. “Shunts” consist of a wire strung across the tracks, mimicking the electrical signal of a train. The devices can cause trains to automatically brake and can disable railroad crossing guards.
CUSTER, WA – DECEMBER 22: In this aerial view from a drone, a train carrying crude oil burns while derailed on December 22, 2020 in Custer, Washington. BNSF Railway Company released a statement saying the train was traveling north when seven tank cars derailed, resulting in a fire and evacuations of the area. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
Authorities said the pair were opposed to the construction of a natural gas pipeline across British Columbia when they interfered with the operation of a railroad in Washington state.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force has said there have been dozens of such cases involving BNSF tracks since January, with a message claiming responsibility posted on an anarchist website early this year.
In one, shunts were placed in three locations in northwest Washington on Oct. 11, prompting emergency brakes to engage on a train that was hauling hazardous materials and flammable gas. The braking caused a bar connecting the train’s cars to fail; the cars became separated and could have derailed, authorities said.
CUSTER, WA – DECEMBER 22: A train carrying crude oil burns while derailed on December 22, 2020 in Custer, Washington. BNSF Railway Company released a statement saying the train was traveling north when seven tank cars derailed, resulting in a fire and evacuations of the area. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
Home to five oil refineries, Washington state sees millions of gallons of crude oil move by rail through the state each week, coming from North Dakota and Alberta.
The seven cars derailed at about 11:46 a.m. Tuesday. Two people were on board the 108-car train headed from North Dakota to the Ferndale Refinery, owned by Phillips 66.
Critics of oil transport by rail car said Tuesday’s incident was another example of the dangerousness of the practice. They cited the 2013 fiery derailment of a train carrying crude in Lac Megantic, Quebec, which killed 47 people.
The scene in the Custer area after a train derailed Tuesday morning. (Photo: Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office)
Washington state passed a law that imposed safety restrictions on oil shipments by rail, but it was blocked earlier this year by the federal government.
The U.S. Department of Transportation in May determined federal law preempts the Washington law adopted last year, which mandated crude from the oil fields of the Northern Plains have more of its volatile gases removed prior to being loaded onto rail cars.
Matt Krogh, director of U.S. Oil & Gas Campaigns for the environmental group Stand.earth, said it is difficult for state and local officials to place restrictions on shipments of oil by train.
“Our hands are tied in many ways because of federal pre-emption,” Krogh said.
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