Big rig spills 6,000 gallons of organic sunflower oil in Vacaville

An overturned tractor-trailer in Vacaville Monday sent some 6,000 gallons of organic sunflower oil cascading out of its busted casing and oozing down a nearby storm drain. The driver of the big rig was transported to a nearby trauma center with serious, but non-life threatening, injuries, said Battalion Chief Gary Mahlberg of the Vacaville Fire Department. A hazardous materials team was initially dispatched to the crash site before emergency responders realized that they were dealing with organic sunflower oil, Mahlberg said. The 6,000 gallons of oil burst from a massive plastic container inside the truck’s trailer. Concerned about the viscous oil entering the storm drain system, Mahlberg said public works crews were able to bring in tons of sand in dump trucks that prevented the oil from spreading into the run-off system.