FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A chemical company from central Florida lost its load in Flagler Beach Thursday morning, spilling 300 gallons of a sulfuric acid solution and closing a portion of State Road A1A.
A skid holding the container slipped off a flatbed truck at the intersection of State Road 100 and A1A shortly after 9:30 a.m. The road was not fully reopened until about 11:15 p.m.
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The truck belongs to Dumont Chemical Company from Apopka.
The Department of Environmental Protection was notified and the St. Johns County Fire Rescue Hazmat team responded to contain the spill.
Hazmat crews neutralized the sulfuric acid solution spill by 2:30 p.m., and the Florida Department of Transportation reopened a portion of A1A by 5:30 p.m., Flagler County officials said.
SWS Environmental Services, a contractor for the Dumont Chemical Company, excavated the neutralized sand Thursday evening along the roadway at the intersection of State Road 100.
The shoulder will be filled with replacement sand when the excavation is complete.
"Once clean-up has been completed, the scene will be turned over to the Department of Transportation, which will determine whether the integrity of A1A has been compromised before reopening it. We don’t know how long all of that will take," Flagler County Public Safety Emergency Manager Steve Garten said Thursday.
TME Enterprises, a contractor for the Department of Transportation, fully reopened State Road A1A at 11:15 p.m. and declared the road to be "fully operational," Garten said Friday morning.
The spill impacted about 3 feet of the roadway, Garten said.
The Flagler Beach Public Works Department had the shoulder barricaded Friday as TME was still on site, said Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom. SWS Environmental Services will do a “final walk-through” before the restoration work is deemed complete.
“We have the area barricaded for safety reasons,” Newsom said. “Our goal is to have the barricades removed and everything back to normal by the end of the day.”
The Boardwalk was taped off and beachgoers were directed to stay to the north or south of the affected area.
Flagler Beach police are investigating the spill and charges against the driver of the truck are pending.