A truck leaking chemicals onto the pavement shut down all southbound lanes of I-285 near Washington Road at the height of the Wednesday afternoon rush hour.
Contrary to initial reports, the spilled material was not toxic or hazardous, but slick. An East Point Police Department spokesman told Channel 2 Action News that a canister in the trailer portion of the tractor-trailer breached and spilled liquid onto two to three miles of I-285.
The incident began about 5:30 p.m. on I-285 Southbound between Camp Creek Parkway and Washington Road, according to the East Point Fire Department. The truck’s driver noticed a leak and called for help.
Fire units from East Point and Atlanta responded, along with Rural Metro Ambulance, the Georgia Department of Transportation and three HERO units, and East Point and Georgia State police in what quickly escalated into a full hazardous materials response.
The truck was moved to the right shoulder, and the highway was shut down.
The Atlanta HAZMAT Unit identified two chemicals being transported -- isopropanolamine and polymines -- and "with Southern Waste Services deemed the chemicals non-hazardous, posing no immediate danger or threat to life and health," East Point fire officials said in a news release.
"The incident did not require any evacuations. However, it did create massive traffic delays in the area," the Fire Department said. "There were no accidents or injuries to any responders."
Crews cleaned up the spill and spread sand on the expressway.
Southbound traffic, meanwhile, was detoured onto Camp Creek Parkway, according to AM 750 and 95.5 FM News/Talk WSB. Northbound lanes of I-285 remained open.
The area is in south Fulton County, just west of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Anyone headed to the airport from the north on I-285 was advised to seek an alternate route.
One southbound lane was reopened about 6:15 p.m., but emergency responders were letting traffic through slowly, only one vehicle at a time, Channel 2 reported.
As of 1o:15 p.m., southbound traffic on the Perimeter's west side was moving again, and the backup -- which had extended for several miles, to Cascade Road, for most of the evening -- was dissipating, according to GDOT's Georgia Navigator traffic website.
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