Hazmat crews cleaned up a diesel spill in downtown Salt Lake City after a semitruck struck a barrier and ruptured a fuel tank Tuesday morning.
The Salt Lake City Fire Department received reports at 10:28 a.m. of the spill at 50 East and 200 South, by the Gallivan Center. One hundred gallons of diesel fuel spilled into a storm drain on the east side of the street, said Holly Mullen, spokesperson for the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities.
Most of the fuel that spilled into the drain was captured before it reached any waterways, Mullen reported. Another 10 gallons of diesel were lost in the soil.
Gallivan Center employees used absorbing agents in small oil spill kits and 5-gallon buckets to contain the leak before first responders arrived, Mullen said.
Two hazmat vehicles remained at the scene Tuesday afternoon as workers cleaned up the fuel. Crews finished flushing out the storm drain by 4 p.m., and the spill did not damage any drains or contaminate waterways, Mullen said. Enviro Care, a private company, did the remediation work.
Because the diesel spill was not an intentional dump into the waterways and was mostly contained, it is unlikely the driver will be fined, said Nicholas Rupp, spokesperson for the Salt Lake County Health Department.
A spokesperson for city’s fire department said he did not immediately know whether the driver of the semitruck was injured in the crash.
Correction: Tuesday, Nov. 30, 6:55 p.m. • This story has been updated to reflect that the substance that spilled was diesel fuel.