DACULA — Firefighters are on the scene of an overturned gasoline tanker on Braselton Highway and Hamilton Mill Road. There is an active fuel leak from the cargo tanker.
Hamilton Mill at Braselton Highway is currently shut down due to the incident. Police are diverting traffic in the area. Motorists are encouraged to avoid the area and seek alternate routes during the morning commute.
Both the nearby QuikTrip and BP stations were evacuated.
A damage assessment of the tanker revealed two leak points. One leak was at the dome located at the top of the tanker and the second leak was at the very rear.
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Fire officials say about 3,000 gallons of fuel entered the storm drain before it could be contained with diking and damming equipment. A nearby pond at the Hamilton Mill Golf Club is where the fuel was finally contained.
The Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources worked in conjunction with a cleanup crew and the United States Environmental Protection Agency in determining the safest and most efficient way to remove the fuel from the pond and storm drain. The Gwinnett Department of Transportation assisted with absorbent products and strategies to clean the roadways.
With about 5,500 gallons of fuel remaining inside of the tanker, a plan was devised to transfer it to an offloading truck. Five holes were drilled in different locations on the tanker and used as access points to siphon the fuel. At the time of this report, the tractor trailer was not ready to be placed upright, but Willard Wrecker Service sent two heavy duty wrecker tow trucks in preparation for that task.
The Hazmat team metered the area throughout the day and never had readings that showed residents were ever in danger. The driver of the truck did not have any medical complaints, but paramedics still performed a thorough head-to-toe assessment.
No injuries were found, and the driver signed a medical release form after declining transport to a hospital. It is still unclear as to what time the intersection will be reopened.
According to Gwinnett County Fire officials, the tanker overturned just before 5:30 a.m.
