Part of Interstate 95 in Cumberland County, North Carolina, was closed for five hours Wednesday after a truck carrying a radioactive uranium compound crashed.
According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the crash happened around 11:30 a.m. ET near the junction of I-95 and Interstate 295, WAVY-TV reported. This is just northeast of Fayetteville.
Initially, I-95 was closed in both directions. The northbound lanes reopened at about 2 p.m., followed by the southbound lanes at about 4:30 p.m.
North Carolina State Highway Patrol officials on the scene said the crash involved a truck carrying uranium hexafluoride, which can be used to make fuel for nuclear power plants. The crash involved the commercial vehicle and a passenger van. This is according to a report from WTVD-TV. No one was hurt in the crash, and a HAZMAT team responded.
The same report said the Highway Patrol initially evacuated drivers from their vehicles and moved them away from the scene as a precaution. Drivers were later permitted to go back to their vehicles. Troopers said they didn’t see a rupture or compromise of the containers involved.
WTVD-TV also reported that, according to The Emergency Response Guidebook: A Guidebook for First Responders, radiation from uranium hexafluoride presents minimal risk to transport workers, emergency response personnel and the public during transportation accidents.
