A box containing acid that spilled onto the 405 Freeway near Inglewood Avenue in Redondo Beach led to a freeway shutdown in both directions at around noon Thursday, authorities said.
The closure snarled traffic before the freeway reopened a few hours later.
Los Angeles County Fire Department officials dispatched a HAZMAT team after they received a call at around 11:55 a.m. to assist Redondo Beach Fire Department with the freeway incident on the southbound 405, officials said.
Initial reports said that a truck was leaking hydrogen cyanide after a traffic collision, but California Highway Patrol Officer Stephan Brandt said a collision did not cause the spill. No one was injured, he said.
It appeared that a box containing thioglycolic acid fell off of someone’s truck, Brandt said.
“Only a tiny amount was spilled,” he said. “It didn’t go into any drains or anything.”
Lanes were closed between Inglewood Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard. At 2 p.m., the northbound lanes were reopened and the southbound lanes about an hour later.
