MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Did you see the yellow ooze seeping onto I-696 in Madison Heights Friday?
Michigan State Police have identified the substance as a cancerous chemical called Hexavalent chromium.
The chemical was made famous in the 2000 movie “Erin Brockovich,” starring Julia Roberts. Brockovich filed a case against PG&E in 1993, claiming that the drinking water in Hinkley, California was contaminated with the chemical.
The drainage shut down the right lane and right shoulder on eastbound I-696 at Couzens in Madison Heights Friday afternoon. Around 2:30 p.m., Madison Height Fire Dispatch asked state troopers block off freeway lanes while crews cleaned up the liquid spill.
Investigators later discovered the leak was coming from a commercial building on East 10 Mile Road. Troopers say the Hexavalent chromium ran from the building’s basement, “down into the ground and found its way through a drain which empties onto eastbound I-696.”Once the chemical surfaced out of the drain, it froze into a yellow blob, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. …