Herald Staff Writers

A hydrochloric acid spill on Interstate 80 Friday morning shut down the road for five hours and caused a nightmare for motorists who were stuck in a traffic snarl.

Official sources said between 400 and 600 gallons of hydrochloric acid spilled onto the road at 6:45 a.m. and forced the closing of the interstate.

The acid created a noxious cloud, according to Freda Tarbell of the state Department of Environmental Protection. She said hydrochloric acid forms a toxic vaporous cloud when it reacts with water or moist air. To clean up the spill, a hazardous materials team was dispatched early Friday to contain and neutralize the acid, Ms. Tarbell said.

The team used soda ash to neutralize the acid. Crews were to be at the site today to excavate the contaminated soil, she said.Twenty homes in Shenango Township were evacuated because of the cloud of dangerous vapor.

Nellie Mortimer, who lives on Habarka Road, said her husband, Gale, was out for a walk when the police came to their door around 8 a.m. to tell them to evacuate. Mrs. Mortimer said the police assured her they would find her husband, and a few minutes later they brought him home in the back of a cruiser.

Mrs. Mortimer said she quickly took her medications, and then she and her husband went out for breakfast. Then they went to West Middlesex United Methodist Church which had opened for people who had been ordered from their homes.

"I thought that was real nice of them to do," she said of the church. About 11 a.m. residents were told they could go home. As the cleanup continued, one lane of I-80 in each direction was reopened by noon Friday, Ms. Tarbell said.

The spill happened when a well-drilling truck carrying three tanks of acid blew a front tire, police said. Truck driver John M. Barnett, 30, Conneaut Lake, lost control and the truck overturned in the median, police said.

The flatbed truck is owned by Superior Wells of Black Lick, Pa., Ms. Tarbell said. Two of its tanks leaked acid onto the median, she said.

Morning and afternoon traffic was backed up for miles and rerouted through Sharon and Hubbard, state police said. The accident near the Pennsylvania- Ohio state line shut down the interstate from the state Route 60 exit to U.S. Route 62 and state Route 7 in Ohio.

The detour caused heavy traffic in Sharon and the surrounding areas during the morning commute.

Barnett and Shenango Township patrolman Robert David were taken to UPMC Horizon, Farrell, police said. A hospital spokesperson said David was in stable condition, but that Barnett was not a patient at the hospital.

Spokesmen from other local hospitals also said Friday afternoon they had not treated Barnett.

Dr. Glenn Charlton, associate director of the emergency room at the hospital of Sharon Regional Health System, described hydrochloric acid as "pretty nasty stuff." He said the acid can damage skin, eyes and mucous membranes. Inhaled acid vapors can eat away lung linings and cause a large amount of fluid to accumulate.

The spill happened near a Shenango River tributary, Ms. Tarbell said. New Castle draws its water from a site about 12 miles downstream from where the accident occurred, and Ms. Tarbell said DEP alerted the New Castle water company as a precaution. Ms. Tarbell said the chances of the acid spill affecting the water in New Castle were very slim, but that the water will be tested over the next few days.

The Mercer County Chapter of the American Red Cross was called to the scene to serve lunches and beverages to 60 emergency personnel.