The New Brunswick government has set up a decontamination site and is holding a car wash for a third day after a chemical spill south of downtown Fredericton.

The province has confirmed the spill includes a chemical known as hexavalent chromium, which officials say does not increase one’s cancer risk if exposure is brief.

Still, the government says anyone experiencing skin, eye or respiratory irritation should seek medical advice or call Tele-Care at 811.

Meanwhile, the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization (NBEMO) has activated Level 2 and an environmental consultant is on site to assist with the cleanup.

The province says the car wash is being held “out of an abundance of caution” for vehicles that drove eastbound or westbound on the Vanier Highway/Trans-Canada Highway between Fredericton and Oromocto — or on Vanier Industrial Drive — between the evening of March 4 and March 6 at 4 p.m.

“(As of March 9), the entrance to the car wash will be accessible via Wilsey Road and the Exit 5 interchange of the Vanier Highway,” the province said in an update.

Linda Garwood says she was driving to work at around 9:30 a.m. March 5 when she noticed the spill.

“(I) was shocked to see the road covered with a bright yellow substance. It wasn’t just on the overpass from Alison Boulevard to Wilsey Road but as far as I could see towards Oromocto,” she told Global News in a message.

“I knew it wasn’t paint but couldn’t imagine what exactly it was. Being a concerned citizen I contacted the Department of the Environment as soon as I got to work.”

Garwood says the person she spoke with said they would send someone out to assess the situation.

“I am shocked that the driver wouldn’t have know that he was leaking this just by looking in his rearview mirror. I am glad that (the province) took this seriously and have cleaned it up and offered a car wash to those who had the substance on their cars,” she added.

The province says the spill poses a very low risk to human health. It has not affected the city’s water supply and “local wells are not anticipated to be impacted.”

The government notes, however, that additional testing and monitoring will continue in the coming days and weeks. As well, remedial work will need to take place on the shoulders of the impacted roads.

— with a file from The Canadian Press