On July 8, 2009, at approximately 5:45 hours, a tanker truck and trailer reportledly lost control and crashed in the eastbound lane of Highway I-84 on a bridge over McCord Creek, in Multnomah County, Oregon. The truck and trailer were carrying approximately 3,000 gallons and 5,000 gallons, respectively, of asphalt oil (asphalt cement). The crash resulted in the truck discharging its entire contents onto the road surface, over the bridge and into McCord Creek and its banks. None of the asphalt oil in the trailer was discharged. Oregon State Police, Cascade Locks Fire Department, Gresham Hazmat, and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) responded to the incident, and the eastbounds lanes of I-84 were shut down. ODOT also mobilized its clean-up contractor, NRC, to the site.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) and EPA responded to the incident immediately after notification, and entered into unified command with the Responsible Party (RP) and ODOT in order to begin mitigation of the spill. The RP contracted with the NRC in order to conduct site clean up and oil removal activities. Other responding agencies included the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation and U.S. Coast Guard, Sector Portland. No injuries or fatalities were reported to have occurred during the accident.
McCord Creek flows directly into the Columbia River within approximately 1/2 mile of the spill site. No sheen or asphalt was observed at the mouth of the creek or in the Columbia River, and there were no observable immediate impacts to fish and wildlife.
