SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
To add to the houses, cars, rats and general detritus that are now swirling around the region's waterways, a ruptured oil tank in New Jersey has added 349,000 gallons of diesel fuel to the mix.
The spill occurred Monday night at the Motiva Enterprises facility in Woodbridge, NJ after a storage tank burst open during megastorm Sandy. The Associated Press reports that the the oil spilled into the Arthur Kill, a narrow waterway separating New Jersey and Staten Island.
Workers were on hand Wednesday evening at the jointly-owned Shell and Saudi Refining Inc. storage facility, vacuuming up the diesel-and-water mixture and laying booms to contain the remainder of the spill.
The Huffington Postreported that a NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator was also present after the U.S. Coast Guard requested specific scientific support for "three separate oil spills in Arthur Kill" and an investigation into "reports of several orphan containers, and many potential hazmat targets." According to the NOAA, the "so-called 'products of concern' include 8,300 barrels--or about 349,000 gallons--of diesel, bio-diesel and slop oil."
The nearly 350 thousand gallons that has escaped into the Arthur Kill is significant. The Huffington Postcites the impact of similarly sized spills:
A barge collided with a tanker in the Mississippi River near New Orleans in 2008, resulting in a spill of more than 270,000 gallons of fuel oil that required months of cleanup. Less than a year earlier, a container ship hit the San Francisco Bay Bridge, resulting in a spill of 50,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil that coated wildlife.
Though the Coast Guard said that the spill is now contained, the federal government declared a public health emergency for New York warning residents to stear clear of waterways where raw sewage, industrial chemicals and other pollutants spilled over in the wake of Sandy.
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
To add to the houses, cars, rats and general detritus that are now swirling around the region's waterways, a ruptured oil tank in New Jersey has added 349,000 gallons of diesel fuel to the mix.
The spill occurred Monday night at the Motiva Enterprises facility in Woodbridge, NJ after a storage tank burst open during megastorm Sandy. The Associated Press reports that the the oil spilled into the Arthur Kill, a narrow waterway separating New Jersey and Staten Island.
Workers were on hand Wednesday evening at the jointly-owned Shell and Saudi Refining Inc. storage facility, vacuuming up the diesel-and-water mixture and laying booms to contain the remainder of the spill.
The Huffington Postreported that a NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator was also present after the U.S. Coast Guard requested specific scientific support for "three separate oil spills in Arthur Kill" and an investigation into "reports of several orphan containers, and many potential hazmat targets." According to the NOAA, the "so-called 'products of concern' include 8,300 barrels--or about 349,000 gallons--of diesel, bio-diesel and slop oil."
The nearly 350 thousand gallons that has escaped into the Arthur Kill is significant. The Huffington Postcites the impact of similarly sized spills:
A barge collided with a tanker in the Mississippi River near New Orleans in 2008, resulting in a spill of more than 270,000 gallons of fuel oil that required months of cleanup. Less than a year earlier, a container ship hit the San Francisco Bay Bridge, resulting in a spill of 50,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil that coated wildlife.
Though the Coast Guard said that the spill is now contained, the federal government declared a public health emergency for New York warning residents to stear clear of waterways where raw sewage, industrial chemicals and other pollutants spilled over in the wake of Sandy.
To add to the houses, cars, rats and general detritus that are now swirling around the region's waterways, a ruptured oil tank in New Jersey has added 349,000 gallons of diesel fuel to the mix.
The spill occurred Monday night at the Motiva Enterprises facility in Woodbridge, NJ after a storage tank burst open during megastorm Sandy. The Associated Press reports that the the oil spilled into the Arthur Kill, a narrow waterway separating New Jersey and Staten Island.
Workers were on hand Wednesday evening at the jointly-owned Shell and Saudi Refining Inc. storage facility, vacuuming up the diesel-and-water mixture and laying booms to contain the remainder of the spill.
The Huffington Postreported that a NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator was also present after the U.S. Coast Guard requested specific scientific support for "three separate oil spills in Arthur Kill" and an investigation into "reports of several orphan containers, and many potential hazmat targets." According to the NOAA, the "so-called 'products of concern' include 8,300 barrels--or about 349,000 gallons--of diesel, bio-diesel and slop oil."
The nearly 350 thousand gallons that has escaped into the Arthur Kill is significant. The Huffington Postcites the impact of similarly sized spills:
A barge collided with a tanker in the Mississippi River near New Orleans in 2008, resulting in a spill of more than 270,000 gallons of fuel oil that required months of cleanup. Less than a year earlier, a container ship hit the San Francisco Bay Bridge, resulting in a spill of 50,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil that coated wildlife.
Though the Coast Guard said that the spill is now contained, the federal government declared a public health emergency for New York warning residents to stear clear of waterways where raw sewage, industrial chemicals and other pollutants spilled over in the wake of Sandy.