Local, state cleanup crews working through tonight to clean Andrews Ave. spill

YOUNGSTOWN

A truck carrying about 4,500 gallons of industrial wastewater from Avon to here, where it was to be cleaned at Environmental Specialists Inc., crashed into a fence on Andrews Avenue this afternoon after the driver lost control of his brakes.

The truck flipped onto its side, spilling the “dirty water,” said Jimmy Drummond, Youngstown Fire Department battalion chief.

Some water seeped into the ground and into the drainage that flows into Crab Creek. The spill’s impact is expected to be limited, however, as those called to the scene included HazMat technicians, Environmental Protection Agency representatives, and a cleanup crew provided by the company responsible for transporting the water.

Drummond said the water is not brine water. Instead, it contains “some solvents, some coolants and a little bit of oil,” but consists of between “95 and 99 percent water.”

YFD assisted at the scene for about four hours after the 3 p.m. accident, while cleanup crews have worked throughout the evening and into the night, with the EPA supervising.