DUPLIN COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) – Two major highways in Duplin County are shut down this afternoon due to a hazardous material spill.
The Warsaw Fire Department says Highway 24 at the I-40 interchange is closed down in both directions.
I-40 westbound is also closed between the Faison exit and the U.S. 117 exit south of Warsaw.
Deputy Fire Chief Lee Graham says the tanker accident happened around lunch. The tanker ended up on its side, Graham says.
The deputy chief says that the nitrobenzene onboard is not an immediate threat to the public and they are keeping people at least 150 feet away.
Nitrobenzene can cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. The chemical is deadly by inhalation and skin absorption. It has a flash point of 190 degrees.
“We are monitoring the temperatures on that chemical,” Graham says. “As you can see, the State Emergency Management and hazmat team are going back and forth down there. They are doing their testing on the temperatures as well as the leaks.”
The deputy chief says they have what he called a very minor leak, almost a drip, from what he has been told.
Graham says another tanker is coming this evening to off-load the chemical. He said the roads will be closed at least until after midnight.
The Regional Hazmat Response Team from Wilmington is at the scene, as well.
The tanker driver has minor injuries, according to the deputy chief, and he was taken to the hospital.
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