Highway exit and access points remained closed Friday after a Thursday afternoon rollover crash near Parksville involving a semi-truck with a tanker of hydrogen peroxide.
The crash happened about 4 p.m. at the northbound on-ramp to Highway 19, also known as the Inland Island Highway, at Exit 46, said Oceanside RCMP Sgt. Shane Worth.
The semi-truck rolled while turning left off Highway 19A.
The only person in the truck was the driver, who got out safely, Worth said.
Area roads were closed as the investigation got underway and an environmental-response team was brought in to assess any issues that might arise. Fire crews were keeping watch.
Dave Pridham, an environmental emergency response officer with the Ministry of Environment, said from the crash site Friday that there are indications of some spillage of the hydrogen peroxide.
It is a substance known, among other things, as an antiseptic and bleaching agent. It can cause eye or skin irritation, depending on the level of exposure.
Pridham said hydrogen peroxide is also an oxidizer, which promotes combustion.
“So the biggest thing is when you dilute it it becomes relatively more benign,” he said. “When hydrogen peroxide of this percentage is on the ground and it’s diluted with water, it becomes substantially less of a threat.”
Pridham said the area around the truck was stable Friday afternoon “and we’re suspecting quite a minimal amount of product that actually left the trailer.”
He said there are no water courses in the vicinity.
A patch of grass caught fire Thursday, possible in relation to the presence of hydrogen peroxide, but was quickly extinguished, Pridham said.
The hydrogen peroxide in the damaged tanker is being transferred into another tanker, he said.
“Once that is complete later on this evening, the truck will be obviously recovered.”
The cause of the crash has not been determined.
jbell@timescolonist.com
