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FedEx Crash - Rad Material
The funny thing is that they first only knew about the radioisotopes and
they went into full hazmat mode. I wonder how much money was lost for a
couple of boxes of P-32 or Tc-99m?
Hazardous truck spill causes Highway 880 closure, huge backup
Bay City News, KRON-TV, SF Gate
Thursday, February 10, 2000
URL:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2000/02/10/free
way.dtl
A Federal Express truck carrying radioactive medical supplies overturned at
7:28 a.m. today, forcing a shutdown of all lanes on Interstate Highway 880
and causing miles-long traffic backups in both directions, the California
Highway Patrol reported.
The CHP reports that trucks are being allowed on Interstate Highway 580 in
the East Bay because of the backup on southbound Interstate Highway 880.
The California Highway Patrol said northbound lanes were open by about 10:15
a.m. but three southbound lanes remain closed, and recommends drivers avoid
the area altogether, or use Interstate 580 as an alternate route.
Capt. Dave Wheeler, spokesman for the Alameda County Fire Department, says
the Federal Express truck was carrying a "mixed bag" of hazardous materials.
Wheeler said the truck contains "radioactive materials, poisons, corrosives,
toxics, infectious materials, flammable materials." He added that all of the
materials were being transported in fairly small quantities, and because of
this, the truck itself is not required to be placarded with distinctive
marks that warn of its content.
He said the contents will be transferred to another truck and the overturned
truck is still on its side.
Wheeler said the team did not detected any "off-gassing," or material
leaking from the containers. He said the team is not sure what the grade of
the radioactive material is. He said the material could be any number of
things, and that the amount of radioactivity varies greatly depending on the
use. He said both the shipper and the receiver of the contents are being
contacted to determine what they were.
Wheeler said the driver of the truck, which was en route from Oakland to
Sunnyvale, suffered no injuries in the overturn.
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