Rock Hill I-77 ramp reopens after 5-hour animal parts spill blockage; driver cited

An Interstate 77 ramp in Rock Hill was closed for several hours Tuesday after a truck carrying animal parts spilled part of its load, police said.

Exit 82-C of northbound I-77 was blocked from around 8 a.m. until it re-opened around 1 p.m. as police and emergency officials waited for cleanup crews to clear the ramp, said Capt. Mark Bollinger of the Rock Hill Police Department.

The truck was carrying parts from pigs, chickens and turkeys that are used in commercial feeds, police said.

A smaller amount of debris that spilled from the truck also had to be cleaned up from Celanese Road near the Rock Hill/York County Airport and Cherry Road near I-77, said Mark Simmons, Rock Hill Fire Department Deputy Chief.

The truck belongs to Valley Proteins Inc. of Virginia, police said. The driver was cited for “preventing escape of materials loaded on a vehicle,” according to police documents.

In September 2016, Valley Proteins was cited by York County deputies after animal intestines spilled on S.C. 557 near Lake Wylie east of Clover.

Officials with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control responded to the scene. DHEC provided support to the incident command and to ensure that any discharge to the environment was properly handled, DHEC officials said in a statement to The Herald.

DHEC officials allowed Rock Hill Fire Department firefighters to hose down the ramp and roadway so drivers did not drive through animal parts and also to help re-open the road as quickly as possible, DHEC officials said in a statement.

The company responsible for the spill has to hire a cleanup contractor to remove any solids left over and neutralize any material left on scene, DHEC officials said.

This story was originally published July 24, 2018 at 10:26 AM.