News Release 598

PERRY COUNTY WATERWAY CONTAMINATED
BY PAINT, FUEL IN TRUCK ACCIDENT

Department of Natural Resources Assists in Cleanup

Volume 35-598

Contact: Larry Archer

(For immediate release)

573-751-3807

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, DEC. 28, 2007 – A tractor-trailer accident in Perry County early Thursday morning resulted in the release of paint and diesel fuel that contaminated a nearby drainage ditch and a small creek south of Perryville, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The accident, which occurred shortly after midnight Thursday on an access road adjacent to Interstate 55 south of Perryville, resulted in the release of approximately 100 gallons of paint and approximately 50 gallons of diesel fuel.

The department’s Environmental Emergency Response section was notified of the accident and spill by the Missouri State Highway Patrol Thursday afternoon. An estimated 30 yards of the drainage ditch were contaminated by the initial spill and Missouri Department of Transportation officials on the scene deployed absorbent booms to contain the initial spill. During offloading of the paint from the tractor-trailer, additional paint was spilled and spread to an additional quarter mile of a creek into which the ditch drains. 

An environmental cleanup contractor hired by the trucking company, Star Transport, Inc., Morton, Ill., has stopped the spread of the paint and has begun using a vacuum truck to remove the contaminated water. After the affected area has been drained, the company will flush the ditch and creek with clean water to remove remaining contaminants. The Department of Natural Resources dispatched a state on-scene coordinator from its Southeast Regional Office in Poplar Bluff to provide assistance. The contaminated creek is a small tributary of Apple Creek, which forms the boundary between Perry and Cape Girardeau counties.

During fiscal year 2007 – 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 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 the 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.

###