18-hour shutdown

A surprise on Interstate 90 awaited Toni Ward as she headed to work in Spokane on Monday morning.

"I couldn't believe both directions were still shut down," said the Post Falls woman, who pulled off Appleway near the state line to watch responders tend to a hazardous materials leak across the freeway at the Washington Port of Entry.

A truck transporting 7,000 gallons of anhydrous trimethylamine from Florida to a Moses Lake, Wash., manufacturer closed both directions of the freeway for 18 hours, causing major traffic delays and detours.

Both directions re-opened around 8:15 a.m. Monday. The truck was allowed to continue to its destination after the leak was stopped and the area was deemed safe.

"I saw (on Sunday) that there was a hazardous materials situation along the interstate, but I never would have imagined that it would block both directions for so long," Ward said.

Emergency responders didn't believe it would either, said Spokane Valley Fire District Administrative Capt. Jeff Bordwell.

"The uniqueness of the material and the uniqueness of the trailer carrying it made responders be very cautious," Bordwell said. "This material is highly flammable and a specialized product. The hazardous materials team also hadn't come across the way it was plumbed on the trailer before."

The chemical is a colorless gas with a fishlike odor at low concentrations, which changes to an ammonia-like odor at higher concentrations. Contact with the liquid can cause frostbite or chemical burns. Prolonged exposure to heat can cause an explosion. Inhalation can also cause adverse health effects.

Bordwell said the hazardous materials teams in suits could only deal with the situation in stages.

"We sent crews in eight times, but they can only work 40 to 45 minutes at a time because they run out of air and their equipment needs to be decontaminated," he said.

Bordwell said two law enforcement personnel and two hazardous materials workers complained of headaches from the leaking vapors. They were treated nearby, but not transported to a hospital.

"That made us even more cautious," he said.

Bordwell said residents in the vicinity were advised to stay inside, keep their windows shut and not run their air conditioners.

A 350-foot evacuation zone around the truck, including Interstate 90 and Centennial Trail, was ordered.

"We realize this was an inconvenience for the taxpayer, which we never want to do," Bordwell said of shutting down the freeway. "This was drawn out longer than we wanted, but we had to plan for the worst and mitigate the situation the best we could."

A motorist called 911 around 1 p.m. on Sunday complaining about an odor coming from the truck. The trucker was stopped at the Port of Entry and fire crews responded after the odor continued at the port.

While the freeway was closed from the west side of Post Falls to Liberty Lake, Highways 41 and 53 served as the main detours.

"Washington's request was to get Idaho traffic as far from the interstate as possible, and Trent (the Highway 53 detour route) has four lanes," Wally Brown, Idaho Transportation Department supervisor.

Brown said ITD's intent was to keep traffic on the state highways and not divert it to county and city roads.

"We wanted to try to keep everything on our highway system because that's what we're responsible for," Brown said.

Brown said the last time he can recall I-90 being closed in both directions in this area for a hazardous materials issue was about 10 years ago when a semi-truck crashed east of Coeur d'Alene and leaked diesel.

An anhydrous nitrate spill shut down U.S. 95 in the Cocolalla area in February.

Twelve agencies on both sides of the border collaborated during the incident on Sunday and Monday.

"It forces everyone to come together and play well," Bordwell said. "It was neat to see everyone work together to bring this to a good conclusion."