Residents of the city of Krefeld were told to shelter in place on Friday morning as emergency services rushed to clean up a chemical spill on a motorway near the city centre.
An acid spill on a motorway near central Krefeld on Friday caused disruption in rail and road traffic, and even the closure of nearby schools and daycares.
Warning apps alerted citizens to “extreme danger” and the fire department told people within the containment area to stay inside until the spill is contained.
Public life in the city of Krefeld, which is west of the Rhine between Düsseldorf and Duisburg, was therefore temporarily paralyzed.
At around 3am on Friday morning, a truck carrying 23 tons of corrosive nitric acid crashed and spilled its cargo. The accident occurred on the Krefeld-Zentrum motorway (A57) near to the city-centre.
Nitric acid is dangerous to human health. Exposure can corrode the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. The acid is also commonly used in industry and is mainly used for fertilizers and explosives.
Following the spill, local warning sirens went off in the middle of the night, and warning apps alerted nearby residents to “extreme danger”.
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The fire brigade then began a clean up operation, with emergency personnel approaching the truck in protective suits and with breathing masks.
Schools and traffic affected
As a result of the spill passenger traffic was stopped in places, schools and daycare centers were closed, people living nearby were told to shelter in place while nearby workplaces were also shut.
There are four schools and two daycare centers, numerous companies and many apartments within the surrounding containment area.
Officials have announced that all schools and daycare centers within a radius of 1,000 meters of the accident site would remain closed all day Friday.
Long traffic jams formed on the A57, in Krefeld and on many detour routes.
In rail traffic, related disruptions spread as far as Düsseldorf and the Ruhr area, because the railway line from Krefeld in the direction of Duisburg was closed.
According to Deutsche Bahn, there are diversions and train cancellations on the lines RE 7 (Rheine-Wuppertal-Krefeld), RE 10 (Düsseldorf-Kleve), RE 42 (Mönchengladbach-Duisburg-Münster), RB 33 (Aachen-Essen), RB 35 (Gelsenkirchen-Mönchengladbach) and RB 37 (Krefeld-Neuss).
Deutsche Bahn recommended to all travellers: “Please pay attention to information at stations, and check the train route online in advance.”
In the Krefeld city area, numerous roads remained closed until further notice. Buses and light rail vehicles could not run on their normal route on several lines in the city centre.
Garbage collection is also cancelled throughout the city because the company premises are in the restricted area.
Outside the cordoned-off area, there is no danger, assured a fire department spokeswoman.
Initial measurements for air pollutants also tested below established safety limits, an official told the Rheinische Post.
As of around 11am, a spokesperson for the fire department told the Rheinische Post that the acute danger was over.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thelocal.de
