Clean up in Fulton

Wednesday, June 08, 2011 at 11:56 AM the Fulton Fire Department (FFD) and Twin City Ambulance Service (TCAS) responded to a reported chemical spill on West Highland Drive near the 3J Food Mart in Fulton, KY.  A flat bed truck from Speed AG Services on Hwy. 166 in Fulton, County dumped two 265 gallon containers of Round Up weed killer on the roadway. Approximately 400 gallons of the material was spilled and went into the storm drain in front of 3J’s.

Lester Burns of Reeves, TN. was the driver of the vehicle. Burns stated that he down shifted the truck coming up to the stop sign and the two containers came off of the truck bed. The containers were secured with a strap. Burns has been driving for 30 years and has been employed by Speed Ag for the past 11 years. The Round Up was being delivered to the Reams Farm in South Fulton, TN.

The Fulton Public Works Department and the work crew from the Fulton County Detention Center responded to contain the spill with sand and sand bags and prevent additional contamination. The Fulton Police Department, the South Fulton Police Department and the Kentucky State Police provided traffic control at the busy intersection. Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement (KVE) investigated the incident. The Kentucky Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was on the scene. Speed AG contracted with Swift Environmental out of Murray, KY. to clean up the spill. West Highland Drive was reduced to one lane traffic for approximately 21/2 hours.  There were no reported injuries.