From Pine View Farm

Slip-Slidin’ Away (Updated) 4

A waste truck leaked poultry fat along 20 miles of roadway this morning, causing at least four crashes and making a stinky mess.

Virginia State Police said the tanker truck hauling a waste product of poultry grease to Maryland from a Perdue Farms plant had a valve open, and the liquid fat leaked onto U.S. 13 from the plant to the Maryland line.

Sgt. Joe Bunting said there were at least four crashes and several spinouts reported between 5 and 6 a.m. on northbound U.S. 13, the primary road through the Eastern Shore. One person injured in one of the crashes was taken to a local hospital, he said.

(snip)

The liquefied fat was sticking to the tires of cars that were spreading it onto secondary roads in the region, Bunting said. He added that drivers who got the grease on their vehicle tires would smell a “really funky” odor.

Addendum, 11/29/2007:

The indigestion will last for a while:

A chicken fat spill on a 20-mile stretch of an Accomack County highway could impact motorists for days after the road cleanup.

Wildlife biologists said the distinctive stench — likely to remain after the liquefied fat is removed — will attract scavengers including opossums, skunks and raccoons to the affected areas of U.S. 13.

Automotive professionals say the combination of spilled grease and the sand placed by road crews isn’t good for vehicle finishes or undercarriages.

(snip)

Virginia Department of Transportation workers placed 380 tons of sand on the highway in the wake of the spill Tuesday, which was reported before 6 a.m. and caused four serious crashes and “numerous” vehicle spinouts, Virginia State Police reported.

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4 comments

  1. Bill

    November 27, 2007 at 4:28 pm

    Bet it took a lot of Dawn detergent to clean up all that grease! Glad I didn’t have to drive down to the Eastern Shore this morning.

     
  2. Frank

    November 27, 2007 at 5:59 pm

    I wonder whether that was one of the funky trucks with all the pipes sticking out of it.

    I’ve searched for truck bodies on the web to find out what those trucks are for, but I’ve not been able to them.

    Jeez, that would have been worse than being behind a chicken truck.

     
  3. Bill

    November 28, 2007 at 9:08 pm

    Here’s a little more on the story from The Virginian Pilot. Looks like Perdue will end up paying the bill, which is only fair since their truck created the mess.

    20-mile long chicken fat spill ties up U.S. 13 on E. Shore

     
  4. Frank

    December 1, 2007 at 8:32 pm

    There’s a reason I avoid Perdue when I go to the local Superfresh.