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Hazardous Waste Site | Washington, DC | Late 1800s to present What Happened?

Oil Spill | Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana | October 2017

What Happened?

Hazardous Waste Site | Wilmington, DE | 1935-2017

What Happened?

Beginning in 1935, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) owned and operated a titanium dioxide manufacturing facility, known as the Edge Moor Plant.  DuPont later acquired and operated a nearby landfill along Hay Road, which in the late 1990s, was used to stockpile "Iron Rich" materials, a byproduct from its nearby titanium dioxide facility. This substance contained heavy metals, PCBs, and other hazardous materials. 

Oil Spill | Orange and San Diego Counties, California | October 2021 What Happened?

Late on the evening of October 1, 2021, the San Pedro Bay Pipeline (Pipeline P00547) broke and spilled crude oil into the waters 4.5 miles offshore of Huntington Beach, California. Inspection of the pipeline indicated that the failure may have been caused by an anchor that hooked the pipeline, causing a partial tear. 

What Happened?

Example

What Were the Impacts?

Consumption of contaminated fish, shellfish, crab, and other organisms from these areas poses a threat to birds and other wildlife, as well as to human health.

What’s Happening Now?

Example

Oil Spill | Deer Park, TX | March 2019 What Happened?

On Sunday March 17, 2019, a storage tank caught fire engulfing much of the Second 80’s tank battery at the Intercontinental Terminals Company, LLC (ITC) Deer Park facility in Deer Park, Texas.

The fire was initially extinguished on March 20th, but reignited on March 22nd and damaged a second containment wall of the tank facility. 

Hazardous Waste Site | Gloucester, MA | Mid-19th century to present What Happened?

Between 1854 and 1952, the former Gloucester Gas Light Company operated a manufactured gas plant (MGP) along the Gloucester waterfront in the vicinity of the present-day Harbor Loop and Rogers Street along the Inner Harbor.

Oil Spill | Bayport, Texas | May 2019 What Happened?

On May 10, 2019, an estimated 599,676 gallons of oil in the form of a gasoline blending stock, known as reformate, was discharged from Tank Barge 30015T during a collision with the tanker ship Genesis River near Bayport, Texas.

The bow of the Genesis River cut through the hull of the barge and ruptured the barge’s storage tanks. Oil discharged from the barge into the waterway and polluted parts of the Houston Ship Channel, Galveston Bay, and the Texas coastline. 

Hazardous Waste Site | Hawaii | 1947-1995 What Happened?

The Oahu Sugar Company Ltd. operated sugar cane fields and associated facilities on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, and leased land at Pearl Harbor from the United States Department of Defense and Department of Navy from roughly 1947-1995. 

Over the years, these activities at the site, including storage, mixing, and loading of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, resulted in the release of hazardous substances in the environment. 

On January 7, 2024, the USCG Sector New Orleans contacted the NOAA SSC regarding a reported discharge of oil that occurred this morning from a wellhead in vicinity of Coquille Bay, LA. No oil was observed at the wellhead location during an overflight around 1530 but a possible sheen (see photos) was reported aprox 3 miles north of the wellhead near an ongoing dredging operations (see photos). USCG is trying to determine if sheen is oil or possible false positive possibly associated with dredging operations (eg. sediment or other non oil sheen).

On January 4, 2024 emergency management offices in several counties in the Corpus Christi area received multiple reports of an unknown odor. Odor was described various ways, as sulfur- or ammonia like. No source has been identified. Initial reports were received beginning around 2100 local on January 3. NWS Corpus Christi received a request for an air plume reverse trajectory (hindcast) to assist in locating the source. Based on initial reverse trajectory and a review of NRC reports, no point source was identified. Air monitoring crews from TCEQ and multiple local agencies were in the field today, and the EPA Aspect aircraft has begun collecting data. As of the evening of January 4, odor has been reported in 7 counties. NOAA SSC is supporting remote.