Polce, fire departments respond to hazardous material leak

Published 8:12 pm Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Crews respond to a minor hazardous material leak that came from an 18-wheeler on U.S. 84 near the Vidalia Walmart Thursday. (Sam Gause / Natchez Democrat)

Crews respond to a minor hazardous material leak that came from an 18-wheeler on U.S. 84 near the Vidalia Walmart Thursday. (Sam Gause / Natchez Democrat)

NATCHEZ — The Vidalia Fire and Police departments, along with the Louisiana State Police, responded to a minor hazardous material leak of U.S. 84 near the Vidalia Walmart Thursday evening.

Capt. Tim Vanier of the VFD said the leak came from an 18-wheeler that was traveling along the highway.

“We don’t know at this time how it happened,” Vanier said. “We just responded to the scene and evacuated the area.”

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The truck was parked behind the Exxon gas station with a 150-foot clearing space.

Vanier said the chemical leaking from the truck was Styrene Monomer, a highly flammable hazardous material.

“All civilians were evacuated from the gas station and no one was injured,” he said.

At 7:17 p.m. Friday, Vanier said he was unsure how long it would take to secure the area.

“This is definitely not a routine thing,” he said.