Liquid Nitrogen Spill Forces Evacuation
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About 100 Whittier residents were awakened and evacuated from their homes late Monday when liquid nitrogen spilled from a tanker that had been overturned in a collision with a limousine.
Authorities set up a Red Cross shelter at a nearby gymnasium while firefighters and a hazardous materials team worked to contain the highly flammable liquid. The shelter was closed and residents returned home by 2:45 p.m, a sheriff’s spokesman said.
The tanker was carrying at least 6,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen when it collided head-on with the limousine at Valley View Avenue and Leffingwell Road shortly after 11 p.m., a county Fire Department spokeswoman said. She said that some liquid remaining in the truck was siphoned to another tanker.
The truck driver was not injured, but the limousine driver may have suffered a broken collarbone, authorities said.
By 6:30 a.m., health officials determined that the spill did not pose a threat and the intersection was reopened.
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