photo by CFD
Some downtown businesses and residents were evacuated on Monday night after a chemical spill and active leak.
Cleanup continued at the scene through the early morning, but the leaking tote has been offloaded.
The evacuation order has been lifted and residents were told they could return. A shelter at Avondale Community Center was closing.
Crown Subaru, Chattanooga Whiskey Event Hall, a medical office, and dental office in the immediate vicinity will remain closed at this time.
The intersection of MLK and Riverfront Parkway will remain closed until cleanup is complete. Traffic will be diverted off of Riverfront at Chestnut Street and Main Street. Any westbound traffic on MLK will be turned around at Boynton Drive.
At 6:11 p.m., the Chattanooga Fire Department and Chattanooga Police Department responded to Riverfront Parkway and Martin Luther King Boulevard after a rollover accident involving a tractor trailer. The semi had 13 totes of chemicals with 42,000 pounds of organic peroxide on board.
One of the totes was leaking onto the metal of the truck.
Fire officials on the scene asked that businesses and residents in a quarter mile of the crash site evacuate - north of the accident site to Molly Lane (including the two residential buildings and one business north site of the accident site on the east side of Riverfront Parkway to Molly Lane), and west of the accident site to the river. That could be expanded if the incident commanders deem it necessary for public safety, officials said.
Emergency personnel identified the product involved in the incident, isolated the scene, and evacuated the area. Two entry teams went in and confirmed the chemical they were dealing with. They located the leaking tote, but could not get to the leak.
Marion Environmental came to the scene to stabilize the situation and begin the cleanup process. The firm began to transfer the chemicals into new totes and conduct cleanup. They have to offload all 13 totes on the truck. Marion Environmental will work through the night to finish at the site.
Firefighters used soda ash to absorb chemicals. They created a dam to contain the spill and prevent runoff from getting into storm water drains.
The Red Cross was overseeing the shelter site.
There were no injuries to the truck driver. No exposures have been reported.
photo by CFD