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Spills & Sundry Messes

We have to be sanguine about the whole thing...at least they weren't killed.
 
Animal blood and 150,000 cans of Coke: Here are the top 10 strangest spills on our roads in 2015
By CGBen | Posted: November 20, 2015

From animal blood to argon, toilet roll to toxic waste, the Highways Agency has released a list of the ten strangest things to spill onto our roads.
The list was released to highlight the work highways teams have to do to keep our roads clear.
It comes days after 24 tonnes of lard closed the M11 - needless to say
In some cases – like the time 150,000 cans of Coke fell from the back of a truck – each item had to be picked up by hand before the road could reopen.

Melanie Clarke, director of customer operations at Highways England, said: "We know drivers get frustrated when their journeys are disrupted but we do all we can to clean the road quickly after an incident – and it's often much more complicated than simply moving the vehicles off the road to reopen it.
"That's why it can often take longer for us to safely reopen roads when a potentially dangerous substance is spilled in an incident.
"Our teams expect the unexpected, but of course, when you're dealing with ten tonnes of salmon, dangerous toxic chemicals, or emulsion paint, the clean-up operation is somewhat complicated."

The Highways Agency's top ten list is:
  • Raw human sewage
  • 6,000 chickens
  • Hundreds of tins of baked beans
  • 20 tonnes of Marmite
  • Thousands of lager cans
  • 10 tonnes of salmon
  • Melamine formaldehyde resin and phosphoric acid
  • Animal blood
  • Refrigerated liquid oxygen
  • Powdered cement
http://www.cornishguardian.co.uk/An...-strangest/story-28211687-detail/story.html#1
 
I wonder if those Coke cans were then inspected for damage and those appearing unscathed made their way onto shop shelves.
I had to think about the raw human sewage, but it was probably a truck carrying portable loos.
 
People's Daily,ChinaVerified account‏@PDChina
An overturned truck spills 3 tons of oranges on a highway in SW #China’s #Yunnan.

CVY2IEuUwAAGhcg.jpg


3:15 PM - 4 Dec 2015
 
Australia train derails with sulphuric acid cargo

An exclusion zone is in place after a 26-carriage freight train carrying some 200,000 litres (44,000 gallons) of sulphuric acid derailed in Australia.
The accident happened at 10:20 Sunday morning, 20km (12.4 miles) east of Julia Creek in north-west Queensland.
Three train staff are in hospital with minor injuries. The site was quickly declared an emergency and the 2km exclusion zone was imposed.
The extent of any acid leakage remains unclear, says Queensland Police.

The area has also been affected by flooding, which has hampered access to the site.
The cause of the accident is not yet known.

Sulphuric acid is a highly corrosive substance that can cause severe burns on contact with skin.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-35188125
 
A38 to be closed tonight after mystery sticky goo spills onto road
By WBCaroline | Posted: March 18, 2016

A SECTION of the A38 will be closed tonight - because the road is covered in a mystery sticky substance that could go up in flames.
Highways England said a chemical spill means part of the road in Devon will have to be shut overnight for 10 hours.
But nobody knows how the flammable resin substance came to be there.

Highways England were called to the spill on the A38 between Dartbridge and Peartree Cross, where the substance was assessed after an eastbound lane was closed off earlier today.
Workers from Highways England covered the substance in sand but remained too 'sticky' despite the measures.
The road will be closed to allow for the goo to be removed from the road.
The substance is said to be resin, which is a sticky flammable substance and insoluble in water.
Neville Smith from Highways England said: "The substance appears to be resin, but the workers don't know how it got there."

The eastbound section will be closed to drivers between 8pm and 6am tonight, with motorists diverted off the A38 at Dartbridge to follow the country road to Peartree.

http://www.westbriton.co.uk/A38-clo...-spills-road/story-28950687-detail/story.html
 
Freight train leaks hazardous material after derailing near Washington DC
More than 10 cars reportedly left tracks, with at least three of them leaking dangerous material, but official says danger is ‘pretty well contained’
Joanna Walters
Sunday 1 May 2016 18.22 BST

A freight train derailed close to Washington DC early Sunday and is leaking hazardous material and causing disruption in the area of the capital.
More than 10 cars are understood to have left the tracks, a small portion of the long, 175-car southbound train. No injuries have been reported.
At least three cars are leaking a hazardous substance, according to Doug Buchanan, a spokesman for the District of Columbia fire department.

Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a news conference that the leak was contained, but officials were not sure how much had leaked.
“The fumes should not cause you any problems and you should not be able to smell them anywhere else,” said DC Fire and EMS Deputy Chief John Donnelly.

It was not immediately clear what caused the derailment. Crews were inspecting the tracks, which are used by CSX, Metro and Amtrak, and were working to restore service. Photos tweeted by DC Fire and Emergency after the derailment showed cars in a zigzag line across the tracks.

The train derailed near the Rhode Island Avenue metro station shortly before 7am local time and the nearby avenue was closed to road traffic.
...

At least one of the chemicals leaking from the damaged train is understood to be sodium hydroxide, according to the local NBC TV station, citing multiple sources at the scene.
Also known as lye and caustic soda, the odorless chemical may generate substantial heat when dissolved in water, which may be sufficient to ignite combustible materials, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The CDC said it could cause eye and skin irritation and burns when exposed. It is also damaging to the respiratory system if the fumes are inhaled.

Pictures posted on the fire department’s Twitter account showed several cars lying on their sides by the tracks on the main train route into the city, including tank cars, bulk material cars and box cars.
Authorities have not issued official instructions to local residents, but one near the scene told a local television station that he had been instructed to stay inside by firefighters.
Resident Chris Nellum said he lived nearby and his window looked directly over the tracks.
“I thought it was like a semi-truck coming toward the building, and when I looked out the window, I saw cars piling up,” said Nellum, who had just moved in the night before. “So I’m not even used to hearing trains. It was jarring.”

Nellum said his girlfriend tried to leave the area and was told to stay put, but she eventually found a way out.
“She’s an environmentalist, so she is very concerned about whatever is leaking,” he said.
...

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...n-derailment-hazardous-material-washington-dc
 
Fire retardant foam engulfs California airport hangar

A sea of flame retardant foam has flooded the streets around an airport hangar in the US state of California.
Firefighters say the foam spread after a fire alarm malfunctioned in a hangar at San Jose airport, causing foam to spew out of the hangar's vents.

The public has been warned to not to touch the foam as it is a skin irritant.
Local media say the foam deluge has stopped, and clean-up crews are being sent to the scene.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38034467
 
Someone left a 35ft yacht overnight in the middle of a road in Cornwall
By CGAlex | Posted: November 27, 2016

A 35ft yacht was left abandoned in the middle of a road in Falmouth over the weekend and could have cause a serious accident, police have warned.

Officers who found the yacht said it had fallen off its trailer, having not been properly secured.
But instead of reporting the incident to the police, the driver left the scene, leaving the yacht on a narrow country lane in the dead of night.

Police in Falmouth posted a message to Facebook, warning of the dangers posed by the owner's actions.

They wrote: "This presented a serious danger for road users and subsequently could have caused a collision.
"This incident serves as a reminder to motorists that intend to carry large loads to use suitable equipment to secure the load.
"It also reminds those that are not involved in a collision on the road that it is an offence to leave the scene of an RTC (road traffic collision) without reporting it, under the Road Traffic Act 1988."

http://www.cornwalllive.com/someone...-in-cornwall/story-29938576-detail/story.html
 
Man who narrowly escaped death by flying mattress still seeking answers
By CGOSLING | Posted: January 02, 2017

A motorist who says he nearly lost his life due to a mattress left lying in the middle of a busy road remains without answers, more than a month after the incident happened.

Steven Hookway, who was involved in a collision on the A38 last November, told The Herald that he 'didn't think he'd see his family again', after swerving to avoid the stray mattress which had fallen on to the dual carriageway.
When Mr Hookway swerved to avoid the object his car hit the central reservation, sending him hurtling back across the carriageway.

The driver says police told him he would be liable for the damage his car caused to the A38 barriers that evening, thought to total between £5,000 and £10,000.
But Mr Hookway insists that the crash was not his fault and has pleaded for those who were driving the truck which carried the mattress to come forward.

The 46-year-old accounts manager from Saltash says is aware of how lucky he was not to have sustained either serious or fatal injuries from the crash.
He said: "I know I'm very fortunate - I even ended up in the lay-by facing back the right way.
"I don't know how I'm not seriously injured or even dead," he said.

Police were informed by a witness that they had seen the mattress fall off the back of a truck at around the time of the incident.
The incident happened just after 5pm on Tuesday, November 29, when Mr Hookway was travelling on the road between Manadon roundabout and the St Budeaux junction.

Another driver who was involved in the mattress incident, was a woman in a Volkswagen Bora.
She apparently decided to strike the mattress head on rather than avoiding it, which resulted in the mattress becoming lodged under her car and causing her to stop suddenly.
The collision caused traffic tailbacks as far as Marsh Mills after two lanes of the A38 remained closed for about an hour.

Mr Hookway told The Herald shortly afterwards that the incident had left him shaken and he found himself 'awake in the middle of the night' and 'still struggling to talk about it'.
He told The Herald: "When you're in the outside lane travelling at 65mph and you see an obstacle in the road in the dark, do you avoid the brick wall or go into it?"
In hindsight the traumatized driver said that given the lack of damage to the other driver's car, he should have driven straight into the object, but that his first reaction was to avoid the obstacle ahead, which he said he thinks "would be most people's first thought".

Mr Hookway argues that if the mattress had not been in the road to begin with, then he would not have had to take the drastic action he did to avoid the obstruction and so the accident would not have happened.

http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/who...illed-driver/story-30025386-detail/story.html

Clearly the mattress was not well secured, which suggests that the truck was being used for fly-tipping. So not much chance of its driver coming forward then...
 
rynner2 said:
Clearly the mattress was not well secured, which suggests that the truck was being used for fly-tipping. So not much chance of its driver coming forward then...
Click to expand...

Might even be a new form of fly-tipping: lob it out on a main road at speed.
 
rynner2 said:
Man who narrowly escaped death by flying mattress still seeking answers
By CGOSLING | Posted: January 02, 2017

A motorist who says he nearly lost his life due to a mattress left lying in the middle of a busy road remains without answers, more than a month after the incident happened.

Steven Hookway, who was involved in a collision on the A38 last November, told The Herald that he 'didn't think he'd see his family again', after swerving to avoid the stray mattress which had fallen on to the dual carriageway.
When Mr Hookway swerved to avoid the object his car hit the central reservation, sending him hurtling back across the carriageway.

The driver says police told him he would be liable for the damage his car caused to the A38 barriers that evening, thought to total between £5,000 and £10,000.
But Mr Hookway insists that the crash was not his fault and has pleaded for those who were driving the truck which carried the mattress to come forward.

The 46-year-old accounts manager from Saltash says is aware of how lucky he was not to have sustained either serious or fatal injuries from the crash.
He said: "I know I'm very fortunate - I even ended up in the lay-by facing back the right way.
"I don't know how I'm not seriously injured or even dead," he said.

Police were informed by a witness that they had seen the mattress fall off the back of a truck at around the time of the incident.
The incident happened just after 5pm on Tuesday, November 29, when Mr Hookway was travelling on the road between Manadon roundabout and the St Budeaux junction.

Another driver who was involved in the mattress incident, was a woman in a Volkswagen Bora.
She apparently decided to strike the mattress head on rather than avoiding it, which resulted in the mattress becoming lodged under her car and causing her to stop suddenly.
The collision caused traffic tailbacks as far as Marsh Mills after two lanes of the A38 remained closed for about an hour.

Mr Hookway told The Herald shortly afterwards that the incident had left him shaken and he found himself 'awake in the middle of the night' and 'still struggling to talk about it'.
He told The Herald: "When you're in the outside lane travelling at 65mph and you see an obstacle in the road in the dark, do you avoid the brick wall or go into it?"
In hindsight the traumatized driver said that given the lack of damage to the other driver's car, he should have driven straight into the object, but that his first reaction was to avoid the obstacle ahead, which he said he thinks "would be most people's first thought".

Mr Hookway argues that if the mattress had not been in the road to begin with, then he would not have had to take the drastic action he did to avoid the obstruction and so the accident would not have happened.

http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/who...illed-driver/story-30025386-detail/story.html

Clearly the mattress was not well secured, which suggests that the truck was being used for fly-tipping. So not much chance of its driver coming forward then...
Click to expand...

I'm glad hes not taking it lying down.
 
Spill or fly-tipping?
Motorist dumps unwanted Christmas tree on the M5 motorway
By CGMikeS | Posted: January 03, 2017

It's early January - the festive season is over, everybody is back at work and it's time to get rid of the Christmas tree.

There are several ways in which you can dispose of your tree, but it appears one motorist took things too far after dumping one in the middle of a busy motorway this morning.
A tree on the motorway closed two lanes of the M5 this afternoon, causing traffic chaos.
The tree, which police believe was dumped deliberately, created a hazard for drivers heading northbound.

It happened on the M5 between Junction 20 and Junction 19.
Highways England tweeted a warning to motorists not to dump their festive decorations on the roads following the incident at around 11am.

Shortly after 11.30am Highways England tweeted again to confirm the Christmas tree had been "rescued" from the carriageway and that all lanes had reopened.

What should you do with your Christmas tree?

Cornwall Council will collect non artificial Christmas trees in the weeks starting 9 January and 16 January. They advise you to put your tree out on your normal rubbish collection day on the alternate week to your recycling collection. The trees will be collected for free and then shredded and composted.

You can also take your tree to the Household Waste and Recycling Centres.

http://www.cornwalllive.com/motoris...-m5-motorway/story-30027515-detail/story.html
 
HGV crash spills 12,000 litres of paint on M606 motorway
14 January 2017

About 12,000 litres of paint have been spilt over a motorway following an HGV crash.
The white paint has pooled across the M606 southbound in Bradford after 12 containers fell off the lorry.

The motorway is shut from Staygate to the Euroway industrial estate while a clean-up operation gets under way.
West Yorkshire Police said it was trying to establish what caused the crash. Highways England said the road needed to be resurfaced.
Nigel Fawcett-Jones, from the force, said: "One of the challenges is that it's hazardous to the environment and they can't just flush it down the drain.
"So they are trying their best to find a method to get it off the carriageway and dispose of it in a safe and appropriate manner."

Motorists have been urged to avoid the area.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-38621659
 
Mayhem on Saltash Road near Callington as ten tonnes of chicken poo dumped on road in tractor crash :eek:
By Shannon_Hards | Posted: January 19, 2017

We know what you're thinking, only in Cornwall could ten tonnes of chicken poo be dumped on a road near Callington after a tractor overturns.

A trailer being towed by a tractor overturned on the A388, south of Callington, at around 1pm today.
The crash, first reported on traffic website Inrix this afternoon, happened on Saltash Road between Southern Road and St Mellion.

Video, 15s.

According to reports, workmen were still at the scene at 3pm clearing up the mess. A workman told a photographer that the unusual load was 10 tonnes of chicken poo.

Chicken poo makes excellent manure, is often sold in dried and pelleted form by garden centres and is a good non-chemical fertiliser.

Dried, pelleted and powdered forms are distinct from fresh domestic poultry litter - or pet chicken poo - which, in turn is different to the 'deep litter' chicken poo produced on poultry farms.

The Royal Horticultural Society says: "While the deep litter produced by poultry farms might be suitable for direct garden use, domestic poultry litter is generally unsuitable for this purpose.

"Used fresh, it could burn plant roots, attract vermin and foxes, and would also be unattractive in appearance. However, it makes an excellent compost activator, and we advise gardeners to compost their domestic poultry litter with other garden waste."
Gardeners should be aware that fresh, wet poultry droppings can scorch both lawns and garden plants, and are (weight-for-weight) much lower in nutrients than dried poultry manure products.

http://www.cornwalllive.com/mayhem-...ractor-crash/story-30071792-detail/story.html

Probably more than most people need to know about chicken shit! :D

 
Trucker Loses 38K Pounds of Marbles
A perfectly kooky mishap

Posted Jan 22, 2017 7:31 AM CST

A truck carrying 38,000 pounds of marbles lost its trailer Saturday on southbound Interstate 465, near Pendleton Pike, reports WXIN. The marbles spilled out on the shoulder and in the median. There were no injuries, notes the AP, but a lane of traffic in that area was affected by the cleanup during much of the day. No other vehicles were involved in the crash, notes RTV6.

http://www.newser.com/story/237217/trucker-loses-38k-pounds-of-marbles.html
 
Dog food tins 'explode' in M6 lorry fire in Staffordshire

A fire in a lorry carrying tins of dog food, which then started to explode, has closed part of a motorway.
Fire crews were called to the M6 between junctions 14 and 15 northbound, near Stafford Services, at about 05:30 GMT.
Central Motorway Police Group later tweeted that "some of the tins of dog food are still exploding".
Highways England said the road was expected to be shut until 12:30 GMT.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said the lorry was carrying white goods, grain and some dog food and the driver was out of the vehicle at the time and suffered shock.
A spokesman said the fire started at the back of the lorry and early indications were that it was "to do with the brakes".

Highways England said at just before 07:30 GMT, one lane past the scene had been opened to release "trapped traffic" but later closed again.
The closure was also leading to delays on surrounding routes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-39203235

Photos on page
 
rynner2 said:
Dog food tins 'explode' in M6 lorry fire in Staffordshire

A fire in a lorry carrying tins of dog food, which then started to explode, has closed part of a motorway.
Fire crews were called to the M6 between junctions 14 and 15 northbound, near Stafford Services, at about 05:30 GMT.
Central Motorway Police Group later tweeted that "some of the tins of dog food are still exploding".
Highways England said the road was expected to be shut until 12:30 GMT.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said the lorry was carrying white goods, grain and some dog food and the driver was out of the vehicle at the time and suffered shock.
A spokesman said the fire started at the back of the lorry and early indications were that it was "to do with the brakes".

Highways England said at just before 07:30 GMT, one lane past the scene had been opened to release "trapped traffic" but later closed again.
The closure was also leading to delays on surrounding routes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-39203235

Photos on page
Click to expand...

d79aa219e1ce9335bddfdda85e85902f.jpg
 
Another fine mess - but it could have been worse.
Crashed car lands on gas main in Cradley Heath street ditch
_95225820_firecrash.jpg

Fire service photo.

A car crashed through roadworks and landed in a ditch on a major gas main.

Fire crews were called to High Street, Cradley Heath, West Midlands at 23:27 GMT on Saturday.
Haden Cross Fire tweeted: "Not the usual RTC. This vehicle crashed through road works onto a major gas main. No leaks and car made safe. Driver had left the scene."
The car was made safe by the fire service and removed from the ditch.

The gas and electricity board were also in attendance.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-39320348

More photos on page.
 
My youngest used to live in Cradley.
 
A30 in Cornwall blocked after potatoes strewn across road from overturned trailer
By G_WIlkinson | Posted: April 27, 2017

A trailer carrying potatoes has crashed in Cornwall, closing a lane of the main A30 road.

It happened just outside of Loggans, near Hayle. The vegetables were left strewn across the carriageway after the crash shortly after 7pm today, April 27. There are no reports that anyone was injured in the incident.

The incident happened on the eastbound side of the road, which has been closed while recovery work is underway. The police were called to coordinate traffic.
Camborne Police said: "A30 East from Hayle to Camborne currently closed due to an overturned trailer. Westbound is still open. Please pass us with care."

mash1.JPG


http://www.cornwalllive.com/a30-in-...rned-trailer/story-30299125-detail/story.html

The A30 is a busy road, which I suppose explains the number of accidents on it, although it is a relatively straight dual carriageway for much of its length.
 
Milk spillage leaves man trapped under crates causing A390 St Austell Road traffic chaos
By Shannon_Hards | Posted: July 11, 2017

A milk spillage on the A390, St Austell Road is causing traffic chaos for motorists.

A police spokesman revealed that the back doors of a lorry were opened and crates fell out, trapping a man underneath.
He added: "We received a report at 10.35am. Ambulance, fire and police crews are on the scene due the the possibility of the man being injured.
"However it is not yet clear as to whether he is still trapped or is hurt."

etc...

http://www.cornwalllive.com/milk-sp...raffic-chaos/story-30434024-detail/story.html

Photos on page, with updates.
 
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