Outbound Edens Expressway lanes reopen after truck spills acid near Dempster Street
Traffic on the outbound Edens Expressway between Morton Grove and Skokie was stalled for hours due on Monday to a truck leaking a corrosive material.
Illinois State Police said, shortly after 6 a.m., troopers responded to the outbound lanes of the Edens Expressway at Dempster Street for a report of a tractor trailer truck leaking sodium bisulfate.
Sodium bisulfate is an acidic salt often used to lower pH in swimming pools, spas and industrial water systems, and is also used in metal finishing, food processing, cleaning products and sanitizing. It is typically a dry, white crystalline substance.
The leak appeared to be at the very back of the truck, off the rear. Fire and hazmat teams were there by 6:45 a.m., dumping sand under the back of the truck to soak up the liquid and make sure the leak remained contained in a strategy known as "dike, dam, divert" – basically, taking steps to ensure that none of the hazardous material was able to spread.
Police said two lanes of northbound Interstate 94 and the Dempster Street ramp were closed as the spill was being cleaned up.
By 2 p.m., all lanes of the expressway had reopened. The Dempster Street ramp reopened by 2:40 p.m.