Eau Claire, Wisc. — Below normal temperatures are proving helpful in a challenging clean-up job on the Red Cedar River near Menomonie, along Interstate 94. On March 5 a truck from Michigan-based Dashman’s Transport carrying 28,000 pounds of Scott’s Turf Builder with Halts Crabgrass Preventer in 40-pound bags crossed the median during a snowstorm and crashed through river ice into 25 feet of water, killing the driver and a passenger. Authorities believe that Batrodin A. Siyad, 25, and Mohammed O. Malin, 26, both of Minneapolis, drowned shortly after plunging into the icy river. The men were reportedly heading from Ohio to Minnesota. Water Resources Engineer Pat Oldenburg, with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, told Green Markets that the colder temperatures were “mitigating some of the toxic effects of the spill, slowing the release of product and reducing the toxicity potential.” He said that divers have recovered more than 200 bags and set up absorbent pads and containment booms, adding that work is going “as well as can be expected.” The clean-up is expected to continue for some time. In addition to inclement weather, the crash site itself makes work difficult as the site is between two spans of the I-94 bridge at the base of steep stream banks. The site can only be accessed by water or by placing heavy equipment on the bridge, which necessitates lane closures on a busy stretch of I-94. So far, no dead fish have been reported, and fish have been seen on video swimming above the debris field.
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