Inky Nightmare on the Highway

Five hundred feet of roadway was closed overnight and needed to be replaced after a truck containing commercial printer ink cartridges rolled over and left a colourful, inky mess on a ramp between Route 128 and Interstate 95 near Boston.

The accident saw several hundred gallons of ink spill onto the highway. Some 16,000 pounds of ink cartridges from Indianapolis-based Flint Group was on its way to a Portland, Maine newsPaper.

According to a spokesman for Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, red, blue, and yellow ink cartridges were inside the truck. There was no evidence that yellow ink was released, added Ferson.

The ink is considered non-hazardous. Removing it from the road involves laying down sand to soak it up and then sweeping the sand away. The ink is non-flammable but cleaqn-up workers are wearing protective clothing to avoid skin contact.