The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating after the contents of a semi-trailer were spilled in a fire at the I-80 eastbound rest area near Adair Tuesday.
The DNR says the semi owned by World Way Freight Transport was hauling poly totes of lactic acid when the driver noticed the trailer tires were smoking and pulled over at the rest area. The majority of the trailer and its contents were on fire by the time firefighters arrived. It is estimated that approximately 550 gallons of lactic acid were lost. The acid and water used to fight the fire flowed through two storm drains and into tile intake that runs into an unnamed tributary of the South Fork Middle River.
An environmental clean-up company is working to sanitize the area and the contaminated soil. As of Wednesday, no dead fish were found. The rest area is closed until the clean-up is completed.