News Release 592

DEPARTMENT EMERGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONDERS ASSIST IN DIESEL FUEL CLEANUP
FOLLOWING JEFFERSON COUNTY ACCIDENT

Volume 35-592

Contact: Larry Archer

(For immediate release)

573-751-3807

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, DEC. 20, 2007 -- Missouri Department of Natural Resources emergency staff responded Wednesday to a tanker truck accident near Desoto in Jefferson County that resulted in the release of an estimated 100-150 gallons of diesel fuel.

The department's Environmental Emergency Response section was contacted Wednesday afternoon by emergency dispatchers in Jefferson County concerning a two-vehicle accident on Highway 21 three miles southwest of Desoto. An estimated 100 to 150 gallons of diesel fuel was released from the fuel tanks of a tractor-trailer involved in the accident. The driver of the second vehicle was reported to have been killed in the accident.

The department dispatched state on-scene coordinators from the department's Southeast Regional Office and from its emergency response office in Eureka to the site of the accident. Desoto Rural Fire, Missouri State Highway Patrol and Jefferson County Sheriff's Department responded to the scene and placed absorbent pads and constructed a dam to contain the fuel spill.   The fuel leaked past the first dam towards a drainage ditch, so on-scene responders constructed a second dam and placed absorbents to prevent further migration.

The owner of the truck, Cain Pallet and Skids, Cadet, has hired a contractor to conduct the cleanup. Department emergency responders were on the scene again today to oversee the cleanup efforts.

From July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007, vehicle accidents accounted for 15 percent of the environmental emergency incidents reported to the department, and petroleum products accounted for 43 percent of materials released during environmental emergencies.

The department's Environmental Emergency Response section is called to the scene of more than 300 emergencies each year, including fires, traffic accidents, leaking storage tanks and other incidents that could have a negative environmental impact. The department's 24-hour spill line receives more than 1,600 incident reports annually.

To report an environmental emergency, including fuel spills, please contact spill line at
573-634-2436. For more information contact the Missouri Department of Natural Resources at
800-361-4827 or 573-751-3443, or visit the department's Web page at www.dnr.mo.gov.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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