Community Corner

Big Rig on EB 10 Spills Human Waste

A CHP sergeant at the scene estimated the spill at 20,000 pounds. The spill occurred just before 9 a.m. and workers in hazmat suits were still clearing the mess at 1:30 p.m. Ramp expected to re-open sometime before 6 p.m.

A big rig hauling treated human waste on eastbound Interstate 10 dumped a trailer-load of excrement and other material Friday morning onto the eastbound ramp from Highland Springs Avenue, authorities said.

Workers clad in white hazmat suits and high-visibility vests were still cleaning up the pungent mess on the closed ramp at 1:30 p.m. A California Highway Patrol sergeant at the scene estimated the size of the spill at 20,000 pounds.

The eastbound ramp from Highland Springs onto the 10 was expected to be re-opened sometime before 6 p.m., said CHP Sgt. Ed Casillas and a Cal Trans supervisor at the scene.

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The spill was reported at 8:52 a.m. as a big rig overturned just east of Highland Springs Avenue in Banning, according to the CHP. The rig was hauling two trailers of treated human waste and one of the trailers overturned, Casillas said.

No injuries were reported and the big rig and trailers were moved within an hour, Casillas said. The eastbound interstate was never shut down but the spill blocked the eastbound on-ramp from Highland Springs.

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Casillas said he did not know where the human waste was being hauled from or to. Highland Springs Avenue runs north-south and divides Beaumont to the west and Banning to the east.


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