YOUNGSTOWN Crews toiled for hours at spill

Tons of sand had to be used to help clean up the gluey mess.
By VERONICA GORLEY
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- What caused a tractor-trailer to lose control and dump a sticky residue on Interstate 680 is still not known. It took more than 12 hours to clean up the mess.
A tractor-trailer spilled a load of liquid laminate at 2:30 p.m. Friday when it overturned on a southbound curve near downtown. The Youngstown Fire Department, the Youngstown Street Department and the Ohio Department of Transportation cleaned up the spill.
The cleanup effort ended around 3 a.m. Saturday morning.
"You had a semi with a box load of a gluelike substance broken open," said Lt. Bill Centric of the police department. "You had a mess. You had to make sure that what you're cleaning up is not toxic."
Waited for equipment
Some of the equipment needed for the removal didn't arrive until after 10 p.m. Friday, said Frank Strahin, supervisor of ODOT's Mahoning County office.
Eighty tons of sand from R.W. Sidley Inc. of Youngstown were mixed with the glue, and the mixture was scraped off the road and deposited in three hazardous waste containers donated by Dart Trucking, Strahin said. The large containers were lined with plastic to prevent leaking, he said.
Afterward, the street department supplied mobile brooms to sweep away the remainder of debris.
"That's the first time I've seen a gluey mess, let's put it that way," Strahin said.
Road closed
At first, the road was closed in both directions. One lane of I-680 northbound was shut down temporarily, and both southbound lanes were out of commission for nearly 12 hours, Strahin said. The police department detoured traffic to Market Street, he said.
"We had a snowstorm, too, so we had freezing conditions going on," Strahin said. "We just wanted to get it cleaned up because we had people on ice and snow. I hope the next time we all get together and work a little quicker to get it done."
Bob O's Towing of Youngstown hauled the overturned vehicle off the street and will continue to clean up what's left of the substance, Strahin said.
Police are investigating the accident and its cause.
The truck driver, who was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center, was treated for minor injuries and released Saturday.