September 10, 2001

PRESS RELEASE

To: Newsroom

For Immediate Release

Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Public Information Officer

Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2609, page: 675-2137

Afternoon Hydraulic Spill Temporarily Closes Roadway

The Shreveport Fire Department was called to the 6400 block of Greenwood Road this afternoon at 12:42 p.m. for the report of a spill on the roadway that was making motorists slide.

When fire crews arrived at the scene they found a clear, slippery substance in the eastbound lane of Greenwood. The spill was about one mile in length and ran from the Industrial Loop exit to the Shreveport Fire and Police Training Academy at 6440 Greenwood Road.

The spill was found to be hydraulic fluid that had leaked from a ruptured seal on a BFI Waste Services of Louisiana truck. The truck, which operates a front end loader that uses the hydraulic fluid, was on its way to drop a load of waste at Recycle Fiber on Bell Street in Shreveport when the leak was noticed.

Fire officials, noting that the fluid was not considered a hazardous material per se, did say that the spill present a real a safety concern because of the slippery nature of the product. The road was blocked until several city sand trucks could cover the estimated 32 gallons of fluid that had covered the roadway. Traffic was restored to normal shortly after 2:30 p.m. this afternoon. ###