A tractor-trailer hauling industrial printer cartridges rolled over this morning on the ramp from Route 128 North to Interstate 95 North in Peabody, spewing ink across the roadway. The ramp could be closed for up to eight hours while the mess is cleaned up, State Police said.
No other vehicles were involved and the driver was not injured in the crash, which occurred about 6:10 a.m.
The ink reached two storm drains, but it is not considered a hazardous material. An environmental cleanup company has been summoned to the scene and a "careful cleanup" will be conducted under the supervision of state environmental officials, State Police spokesman David Procopio said in a statement.
The ramp could remain closed for the evening commute, Procopio said.
Several hundreds of gallons of ink splattered onto the highway this morning, said Joe Ferson, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
Approximately 16,000 pounds of ink cartridges from the Flint Group, an Indianapolis-based company selling printing and packaging products, was bound for a newspaper company in Portland, Maine. Red, blue, and yellow ink cartridges were inside the truck, but Ferson said there is no evidence the yellow ink was released.
Workers from TMC Services in Bellingham are removing the ink, he said. The process involves laying sand over the ink, which soaks it up, and then sweeping the sand away.
The ink is non-flammable, but workers are wearing protective gear to avoid skin contact, Ferson said.
“Any powder may cause respiratory problems,” he said.
Source: http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/peabody/2011/03/inky_crash_may_shut_down_ramp_1.html
