What the responding services reported
THW Schramberg reports that the accident occurred in roadworks near Sulz and that the driver was able to get to safety. The A81 was closed between Empfingen and Sulz. THW describes support for the response, including lighting and logistics during the prolonged operation. Source: THW Schramberg incident report, 14 July 2025.
In its update at 10:39 on 15 July 2025, Polizeipräsidium Konstanz identified the cargo as toluene. It said a specialist company had pumped out the cargo and that recovery and cleaning were still under way. These statements describe the situation at that historical reporting time. Source: police update of 15 July 2025.
Correction: toluene is UN 1294
The previous DGSA account combined the name toluene with the UN number for methanol. That identification has been corrected. ADR 2025 Table A lists:
| Substance | UN number | Class / labels | Packing group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toluene | 1294 | Class 3; label 3 | II |
| Methanol | 1230 | Class 3; labels 3 and 6.1 | II |
Sources: ADR 2025, Table A, UN 1294 (BOE page 1382) and UN 1230 (BOE page 1376). These entries explain the identification correction; the attribution of toluene to this incident comes from the emergency-service reports above.
A useful distinction for documentation reviews
THW reports that the suitability of its folding containers had to be reassessed once the solvent was identified. This is a documented feature of this response, not a general instruction for managing a chemical incident. See the THW account.
For a transport documentation review, the practical lesson is to resolve a mismatch between the product name, UN number and classification before information is reused. Check the actual product and supporting documents; a news story cannot classify a future shipment or establish the cause of this accident.
Related resources: German ADR tunnel restrictions and dangerous goods advisory services for operations involving Spain.
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