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DRUMS — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Emergency Response Team is responding to an accident along Interstate 80 westbound in the Drums area of Luzerne County.
Colleen Connolly, DEP spokesperson, said a tractor-trailer that crashed around midnight was carrying an unknown amount of material that contains asbestos which spilled on the roadway and the side of road.
Connolly said DEP Air Quality staff and a cleanup contractor at the scene are overseeing the proper retrieval and bagging of the material, which will then be sent to an approved disposal site.
The accident is under investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police.
PennDOT reported that the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 were closed beginning at Exit 273 (White Haven/Freeland) following the crash at 11:40 p.m. Motorists are advised to take an alternate route; the highway is not expected to reopen until around 6 p.m. Friday.
Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.