Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Driver hospitalized following hazmat incident

61-year-old driver had accidental exposure to Gramoxone chemical

A semi driver was hospitalized last Friday following a Hazmat exposure that began to produce symptoms while the driver was in Columbus.
The 61-year-old had been exposed to Gramoxone two days prior while in Washington, when he was sprayed with a hose while delivering the chemical, according to Stillwater County Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator Carol Arkell. Gramoxone is a potent weed killing chemical.
The driver sought medical help at that time and put the clothing he had been wearing back in his truck, according to Stillwater County Dispatch reports. The man did not show any signs of trouble until he was in Columbus near the Town Pump.
Local emergency crews were notified of a problem at 3:36 a.m. when the man’s trucking company called the Columbus Town Pump to report one of its drivers was in a semi in the parking lot and needed a paramedic, according to dispatch records.
Columbus Fire Rescue responded and took the driver to the Stillwater Billings Clinic. He was then transferred to a Billings hospital.
Akell said the semi will be “decontaminated and mitigated” due to the fact that the man’s clothing was inside the cab.