In early 2004, a truck carrying Presurized Liquified Nitrogen  “gently” fell on it’s side, just off Hwy. 537 near the Police Sub-Station. 

Several Environmental Protection Office personnel responded to the location to oversee the cleanup efforts.

The accident looks far worse than it really was.  The air we breathe  is primarily comprised of Nitrogen.  In this accident, Nitrogen was released from the truck deliberately to reduce the weight of the tanker.  This allowed the winch trucks to “right” the trailer.  The truck and trailer were then able to be driven away.

This accident resulted in the Environmental Protection Office receiving several phone calls from the public.  This was due in part to the close proximity to Hwy. 537.  Several travelers drove through the cloud of Nitrogen, which had drifted onto Hwy 537.  The staff of the Environmental Protection Office reassured the callers that they were only exposed to Nitrogen, a gas that we breathe in large amounts every day.

The only “casualties” of the accident were two or three sage brush plants that were frozen when the Nitrogen was released.

Jicarilla Apache

Environmental Protection Office

Monitors Cleanup of  Nitrogen Truck Accident!

“The accident looks far worse than it really was”