Hazmat Spill Shuts Down Portion Of I-75 In Rockcastle County

I-75 was shut down in both directions for much of Tuesday morning as crews worked to clean-up and contain a hazardous materials incident after the semi-truck carrying the chemicals crashed.

State Police officials said that they were notified of a single vehicle crash involving a semi-truck on I-75 near mile marker 62, because of suspected injuries to the driver, Rockcastle County Fire and EMS crews also responded to the scene.

When fire responders arrived, they found the semi-truck off the side of the road and the trailer was carrying hazmat materials, officials said.

According to the Kentucky State Hazardous Materials Task Force, The Rockcastle County Fire Department shut down both directions of I-75 between exits 62 and 727, and called the task force to the scene.

Officials said the truck was carrying mixed goods, including five 55-gallon drums of Methylene Chloride.

The Kentucky State Hazardous Materials Task Force commander said said a "small amount" of the liquid inside the drums did leak, but did say the environmental and safety impact was minimal.

The hazmat team removed the drums and packed them into specialized containment drums to stop the leakage.

Officials also said that up to 200 gallons of diesel was also spilled when the truck crashed.