Connect Roads

Incident response - chemical spillage

A chemical tanker travelling in lane one of the southbound carriageway late August 2007 developed a leak from a valve on the underside of the tank and discharged a chemical mixture along a 500 metre length of the carriageway and the grass verge to the rear of the hard shoulder, where the tanker eventually came to a halt.

Connect Roads and its term maintenance contractor Serco-BBISL, together with the emergency services, which included police, the fire and rescue service, Highways Agency Traffic Officers and the Environment Agency attended the incident within 30 minutes of notification.

In order to deal with the incident efficiently, a coordinated approach was taken. To prevent vehicles from running on the contaminated road surface a traffic management closure was implemented along the entire length of the chemical spillage, allowing continued usage of the other lanes. Serco-BBISL closed the Penstock valve, closing off the drainage system in the vicinity of the spillage and preventing contamination of the adjacent water course, thus containing the chemical mixture and limiting potential environmental damage.