Cleanup from Bethlehem fuel spill could last weeks, officials say

Apr 28, 2023

Amy Shortell / The Morning Call

One lane of Route 378 in Bethlehem is closed Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, to aid in the cleanup work continues following a fuel spill Nov. 17 after a tanker truck overturned. About 6,000 gallons of gasoline and 2,500 gallons of diesel spilled onto the road and made its way to storm drains and a culvert along Route 378.

Rich Rolen/Special to The Morning Call

Hundreds of Bethlehem residents were evacuated from their homes early Thursday morning after thousands of gallons of fuel spilled near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard.Multiple news outlets have reported and social media photos show an overturned tanker truck spilling the fuel onto the street.

Rich Rolen/Special to The Morning Call

Hundreds of Bethlehem residents were evacuated from their homes early Thursday morning after thousands of gallons of fuel spilled near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard.Multiple news outlets have reported and social media photos show an overturned tanker truck spilling the fuel onto the street.

Rich Rolen/Special to The Morning Call

Hundreds of Bethlehem residents were evacuated from their homes early Thursday morning after thousands of gallons of fuel spilled near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard.Multiple news outlets have reported and social media photos show an overturned tanker truck spilling the fuel onto the street.

Rich Rolen/Special to The Morning Call

Hundreds of Bethlehem residents were evacuated from their homes early Thursday morning after thousands of gallons of fuel spilled near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard.Multiple news outlets have reported and social media photos show an overturned tanker truck spilling the fuel onto the street.

Rich Rolen/Special to The Morning Call

Hundreds of Bethlehem residents were evacuated from their homes early Thursday morning after thousands of gallons of fuel spilled near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard.Multiple news outlets have reported and social media photos show an overturned tanker truck spilling the fuel onto the street.

Amy Shortell / The Morning Call

An underflow dam is used Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, near 14th Avenue and Gary Street in Bethlehem in the ongoing cleanup of a fuel spill from a tanker truck accident last week. The underflow dam is a portable device spread across a body of water with inflatable or absorbent pads that collect hazardous material while allowing the water to flow under it.

Rich Rolen / Special to The Morning Call

A fuel truck overturned early Thursday morning, Nov. 17, 2022, near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard in Bethlehem, spilling thousands of gallons of fuel and prompting the evacuation of hundreds of residents.

Rich Rolen/Special to The Morning Call

Hundreds of Bethlehem residents were evacuated from their homes early Thursday morning after thousands of gallons of fuel spilled near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard.Multiple news outlets have reported and social media photos show an overturned tanker truck spilling the fuel onto the street.

Rich Rolen/Special to The Morning Call

Hundreds of Bethlehem residents were evacuated from their homes early Thursday morning after thousands of gallons of fuel spilled near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard.Multiple news outlets have reported and social media photos show an overturned tanker truck spilling the fuel onto the street.

Rich Rolen / Special to The Morning Call

A fuel truck overturned early Thursday morning, Nov. 17, 2022, near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard in Bethlehem, spilling thousands of gallons of fuel and prompting the evacuation of hundreds of residents.

Rich Rolen/Special to The Morning Call

Hundreds of Bethlehem residents were evacuated from their homes early Thursday morning after thousands of gallons of fuel spilled near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard.Multiple news outlets have reported and social media photos show an overturned tanker truck spilling the fuel onto the street.

Rich Rolen/Special to The Morning Call

Hundreds of Bethlehem residents were evacuated from their homes early Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, after thousands of gallons of fuel spilled near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard.

Rich Rolen/Special to The Morning Call

Hundreds of Bethlehem residents were evacuated from their homes early Thursday morning after thousands of gallons of fuel spilled near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard.Multiple news outlets have reported and social media photos show an overturned tanker truck spilling the fuel onto the street.

Rich Rolen / Special to The Morning Call

A fuel truck overturned early Thursday morning, Nov. 17, 2022, near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard in Bethlehem, spilling thousands of gallons of fuel and prompting the evacuation of hundreds of residents.

Rich Rolen/Special to The Morning Call

Hundreds of Bethlehem residents were evacuated from their homes early Thursday morning after thousands of gallons of fuel spilled near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard.Multiple news outlets have reported and social media photos show an overturned tanker truck spilling the fuel onto the street.

Rich Rolen/Special to The Morning Call

Hundreds of Bethlehem residents were evacuated from their homes early Thursday morning after thousands of gallons of fuel spilled near Paul Avenue and West Union Boulevard.Multiple news outlets have reported and social media photos show an overturned tanker truck spilling the fuel onto the street.

Cleanup continues from last week's accident in west Bethlehem that sent thousands of gallons of fuel into the streets and ground, and the work is likely to take several more weeks, officials said Tuesday.

A crew from Environmental Waste Minimization of Allen Township is handling the cleanup, said Colleen Connolly, spokesperson with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Connolly and Robert Novatnack, the city's emergency management director, described the cleanup of about 8,500 gallons of fuel:

Workers are using an underflow dam near a stormwater drainage bed to Monocacy Creek that runs under Route 378 above the 14th Avenue Bridge. An underflow dam is a portable device spread across a body of water with inflatable or absorbent pads that collect hazardous material while allowing the water to flow under it.

The treatment involves pumping fuel-impacted water through a skimmer near the underflow dam. The contaminated water is then filtered through the system; the fuel is separated from the water, and the water is pumped back into the drainage area.

Samples will be taken at the start of the treatment process by the contractor and weekly thereafter to monitor water quality.

"This cleanup and treatment could last a few weeks," Connolly said.

While fuel did make it into the drainage area, crews stopped the spread by building the dam, and no pollution entered Monocacy Creek.

About 6,000 gallons of gasoline and 2,500 gallons of diesel spilled onto the road and made its way to storm drains and a culvert along Route 378 when a tanker truck overturned around 2 a.m. Thursday, officials said. The accident forced hundreds of people in the west Bethlehem neighborhood to evacuate their homes for hours.

Matthew Jefferson, who lives on Highland Avenue, said he returned home about 5 p.m. Thursday after sheltering at Nitschmann Middle School. He said a gas odor lingered on nearby Euclid Street, but for the most part, the smells have dissipated.

"I think they’ve done a pretty good job as far as the cleanup is concerned," Jefferson said. He said city workers and others have passed by his street nearly each day checking for fuel odors, including in storm drains.

"I’m just glad nobody got hurt," Jeffeson said. "Somebody was definitely looking out for us."

Police did not respond to an email Tuesday seeking an update on the investigation into the accident, which happened as a tanker driver was eastbound past the 1600 block of West Union Boulevard before crashing near Paul and Raymond avenues.

The driver, who was working for Dalton Delivery Service in Allentown, suffered a broken pelvis, left shoulder blade and several ribs, owner Michael Dalton said Tuesday.

The driver, whom Dalton declined to name, has almost 20 years experience with the company and, to Dalton's knowledge, never had an at-fault accident.

The city closed about a third of a mile of the right lane of Route 378 to protect workers, Novatnack said. It was unclear when the lane would reopen to traffic. Bethlehem has yet to determine how much it will cost for emergency services and the cleanup, he said.

Morning Call journalist Anthony Salamone can be reached at [email protected].

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