CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) is currently responding to the chemical spill that resulted from a tractor trailer crash early this morning that shut down a section of the West Virginia Turnpike in Fayette County.
A preliminary assessment indicated that the truck was hauling a minimum of 12 275-gallon totes of Alkyl Dimethylamine, which is primarily used as a cleaning agent.
An environmental contractor is currently onsite and remediating the area. The contractor will have to inspect and remediate the crash site before the amount of material being hauled and how much was spilled can be determined.
Staff from the WVDEP's Emergency Response, Environmental Enforcement, and Hazardous Waste sections are also onsite, monitoring all aspects of the situation. Approximately nine miles of Paint Creek has been potentially impacted and fish kill has been observed.
Both the State Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) and the Division of Natural Resources (DNR) have been notified. DHHR has alerted all drinking water intakes downstream of the spill and DNR will conduct a fish assessment once remediation is complete.
"We have been and will continue to coordinate with other state agencies and local first responders to ensure the site and impacted areas are cleaned up as soon as possible," said WVDEP Cabinet Secretary Harold Ward.