What happened at the Elk River chemical spill?
What happened at the Elk River chemical spill?
The culprit was 10,000 gallons of crude methylcyclohexane methanol (MCHM), a chemical mixture that had leaked out of an old, but active storage tank sitting along the banks of the river. And it sat just 1.5 miles upstream from the drinking water intake for a nine-county area.
What was the most recent oil spill?
Confirmed spills
| Spill / Vessel | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Shell Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Brutus offshore platform | United States, Gulf of Mexico, near Louisiana | 12 May 2016 |
| Keystone Pipeline 2016 spill | United States, Menno, South Dakota | 2 April 2016 |
| Refugio oil spill | United States, California, near Refugio State Beach | 19 May 2015 |
Where was the Elk River chemical spill?
West Virginia
The Elk River chemical spill occurred on January 9, 2014 when crude 4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM) was released from a Freedom Industries facility into the Elk River, a tributary of the Kanawha River, in Charleston in the U.S. state of West Virginia.
How many oil spills happened in 2020?
There were a total of three oil tanker spills worldwide in 2020. All three incidents had a release volume of less than 700 metric tons.
How did they clean up the Elk River chemical spill?
The spill was contained in the Elk River with absorbent booms. Soil around the tank was cleaned up and the water system piping was decontaminated. Therefore, the water was declared to be safe for all uses, including bathing and drinking.
How did the Elk River chemical spill affect the environment?
The Elk River chemical spill contaminated the public water supply of approximately 300 000 people. Water use was not restored to the entire affected community for 8 days, and the state of emergency lasted 50 days.
Has shell ever had an oil spill?
Shell Offshore Inc. has agreed to pay a $2.2 million civil fine to the federal government to settle charges that the company violated the Clean Water Act by spilling 1,900 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in May 2016 when a subsea pipeline cracked at the company’s Green Canyon oil field.
How much oil is spilled per year?
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 1.3 million gallons (4.9 million liters) of petroleum are spilled into U.S. waters from vessels and pipelines in a typical year. A major oil spill could easily double that amount.
What happened to DuPont in West Virginia?
For decades, DuPont dumped PFAS into the Ohio River in West Virginia, killing farm animals and poisoning the water of surrounding communities. The contamination in Parkersburg and subsequent lawsuit were the subject of an acclaimed feature film released last year.
Is the Elk River contaminated?
On the shore of a disaster: faculty address Elk River chemical spill. A January 9 chemical spill contaminated the water supply of hundreds of thousands of West Virginia residents with a chemical agent used to clean coal (crude 4-methylcyclohexane methane, or MCHM).
What was the worst oil disaster in history?
On April 20, 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, operating in the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded and sank resulting in the death of 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon and the largest spill of oil in the history of marine oil drilling operations.
How often do oil and chemical spills occur?
Oil and Chemical Spills. Pictured above, an oil slick seen during an overflight of the Deepwater Horizon spill. Each year, there are thousands of oil and chemical spills in coastal waters around the nation. These spills range from small ship collisions to fuel transfer mishaps to massive spill events like the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
What are the effects of oil spills on the environment?
Spills can also wreak havoc on the economies of coastal communities by forcing the closure of fisheries, driving away tourists, or temporarily shutting down navigation routes. And these environmental and economic damages can linger for decades. When dealing with oil and chemical spills, there are many questions that need to be answered.
What to do if you have a chemical spill on campus?
For large or dangerous spills, call for help and follow chemical spill procedures. Call EH&S Hazardous Materials Response: Call (858) 534-3660 during business hours. After hours, call Campus Police at (858) 534-4357 (534-HELP).
What are the different types of chemical spills?
There are two types of spills that you may run into: Simple Spills and Complicated Spills. Simple Spills are small, confined, and present minimal hazards. You can clean these up. Neutralize or absorb the spill.