A press release from the Barrington Police Department:
Barrington/Crystal Lake Chemical Spill Incident Update
THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017, UPDATED 8:45 AM
Barrington, IL – Please be advised that both lanes of Route 14 WESTBOUND are still closed at Hart Road until further notice to continue the cleanup of a leaked chemical substance that occurred as a result of a semi tractor-trailer accident at 11:30 pm Tuesday, March 7.
Traffic is being re-routed northbound on Hart Road to Cuba Road. The westbound lanes of Route 14 are expected to be closed throughout the day.
Per IDOT order, the revised truck route is Route 14 to Route 59 north to Route 22 west, back to Route 14.
At 9:00 am Thursday morning, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Duty Officer George Krebs stated that there is “no risk to public drinking water supply, to area surface water, or to the public.
“The impact has not migrated outside the containment zone. There is no immediate risk, no warnings, and no advisories.”
Note that businesses in the area at the Foundry, as well as Wickstrom Auto Group, are open for business.
In addition, Eastgate Road in Crystal Lake is closed until further notice between Factory Road and Commercial Road in order to facilitate cleanup of a secondary site related to the chemical spill.
Following the initial vehicle crash on Tuesday evening, both the semi trailer and the pickup truck involved in the accident were towed to Whitey’s Towing at 710 Eastgate Road in Crystal Lake.
Two additional buildings at 6096 Commercial Street and 6105 Factory Road are also closed at this time until remediation at the site is complete.
The semi-truck collided with a pickup truck at Route 14 and Hart Road in Barrington on Tuesday evening at 11:30 p.m., engulfing the tractor-trailer in flames.
The Barrington Police and Fire Departments responded to the scene and brought the fire under control within 35 minutes.
Two individuals were transported to Good Shepherd Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Crews contacted SET environmental cleanup, which oversaw the cleanup, along with the Village of Barrington Public Works team.
As a result of the accident, a substance was leaked onto the ground and to the shoulder at the scene.
Police and fire were originally informed at the scene that the product was vegetable oil.
On Wednesday morning at 10:45 am police and fire were informed by the shipping company that the product was instead a compound called Methylene diphenl diisocycanate, which is used in production of polyurethane.
The substance can be an allergen and an irritant, but cleanup crews inform us that high winds have assisted the cleanup efforts in dissipating the substance.
The spill is not a threat to the public.
Both affected areas at Route 14/Hart Road and in Crystal Lake have been isolated and spilled product is being removed by specialty technicians.
The public is asked to avoid these areas until the matter is resolved.