Spill of Medical Waste Results in Freeway Closure
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SANTA ANA — One of the nation’s most notorious freeway interchanges became a commuter’s nightmare Wednesday when a truck hauling low-level radioactive medical waste overturned, shutting down the southbound Santa Ana Freeway for about seven hours.
The truck was traveling south about 2 p.m. when a car rear-ended it, California Highway Patrol officers said. The truck then slammed into the center divider, careened back across the freeway and landed on its side, discharging one 55-gallon drum carrying biomedical waste, state health officials said.
Authorities said the double-sealed drum was thrown 35 feet, but had only a dime-sized rupture and no serious leak. But as a precaution, hazardous materials specialists spent hours combing the area for any other sign of spillage, causing a 10-mile backup.
Edgar Bailey of the state Department of Health Services said that about one-tenth of a cup spilled from the drum.
Field tests did not turn up heightened radiation levels outside the drums, he said.
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