Truck leaks hundreds of gallons of lye at Cary shopping center
A shopping center in Cary was evacuated for about an hour Wednesday afternoon after a truck spilled hundreds of gallons of lye in the parking lot.
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Town of Cary spokeswoman Susan Moran said 200 to 300 gallons of the sodium hydroxide solution leaked from a container in the truck, which was making a delivery to the Town and Country hardware store at the Parkway Point Shopping Center.
When the truck driver opened the back door, the greenish liquid came spilling out. Workers grabbed a kiddie pool and bags of dirt and sand from the hardware store to help contain the spill.
The driver was taken to the hospital to be checked for chemical burns after coming in contact with the caustic solution.
The trucking company sent a cleanup crew to the scene, and fire officials said the chemical poses no threat to people or the environment because it was contained to the parking lot.
Lye is a corrosive material that can cause chemical burns to skin and blindness if it comes in contact with eyes.
About half of the shopping center remained closed at 4 p.m. Anyone planning to shop at Parkway Point on Wednesday should call their merchant first, Moran said.
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