Barrington Illinois officials have filed a federal lawsuit against the Canadian trucking company Xan Systems Inc. after their equipment was ruined during a chemical spill on March 7, 2017.
The accident and subsequent chemical spill occurred when a semi-trailer that belongs to Xan Systems slammed into a pickup truck. The driver, Stanislaw Kacki, initially told the fire department that the substance he was transporting was vegetable oil. It was determined later that the substance was, in fact, the hazardous chemical methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, which is used to make polyurethane.
Patty Dowd Schmitz, a spokeswoman for Barrington, said the spill did not pose a threat to public safety. When asked by reporters she declined to specify the total amount Barrington is seeking in damages or how much they have already received from the insurance claim that was submitted after the spill.
Margo Ely, the executive director of International Risk Management Agency in Westchester, the company that provides insurance coverage to Xan Systems, said Barrington was reimbursed for the insurance claim they submitted regarding the damaged equipment but she would not disclose the exact dollar amount of the claim.
Barrington firefighters unwittingly handled hazardous chemical after being told it was vegetable oil
