Milk tanker wreck closes Ky. 80 intersection Monday

Keegan Harris and Carla Slavey, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.
·2 min read

Sep. 27—It could have been a sticky situation Monday, but in the end emergency responders had no need to cry over spilt milk.

East Ky. 80 at the intersection of U.S. 27 was closed down for several hours after a milk truck overturned.

First responders said that the driver of the truck was uninjured, but several agencies were involved in removing the truck. The name of the driver has not been released as of press time Tuesday.

According to Captain Michael Phelps with the Somerset Fire Department, the truck was hauling almond milk rather than cow milk, which meant it was not considered as "significant environmental hazard" as it could have been.

He also said the milk was mostly contained, with EcoTech and the Somerset-Pulaski County Special Response Team (SRT) being able to mitigate the leak.

A Facebook post on the SRT's page said the tanker was hauling 7,000 gallons. A temporary pump station was used by SRT and SFD which allowed responders to keep the milk out of a sinkhole.

EcoTech was then able to tap the tank and offload the milk.

"[T]here was no fast way to clear the wreck due to the danger of a full tank rupture, which would have gotten it into a nearby sinkhole. Milk in this amount is a severe risk to the environment due to bacteria and getting into the aquifer, which could cause a large kill of aquatic animals," the post stated.

Phelps said the truck turned over as it was trying to turn onto East Ky. 80.

"Tractor-trailer turnover is pretty common but not at this particular intersection," Phelps said. "The speed of traffic is not typically as high here as it is in some of the cloverleafs coming in from the bypass or the parkway."

The cleanup took around six hours. In addition to SRT and SFD, the Somerset Police Department, Somerset-Pulaski EMS, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Pulaski County Emergency Management and Candido's Towing assisted at the scene.