Photo By Chief Petty Officer John D. Miller | Contractors with Eastern Environmental Management pick up absorbent pads full of...... read more read more
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WASHINGTON, N.C. — Coast Guard personnel remained on scene at McCotters Marina through the weekend to supervise clean-up efforts of petroleum products that leaked into Broad Creek following a fire there early Friday, Jan. 7, morning.
Twenty-six vessels burned to the waterline, releasing diesel fuel, gasoline and lubrication fluids into the water.
The amount of petroleum products released remains unknown and has left a sheen on the water surrounding the marina. Containment boom deployed around the site has isolated the pollution, and contractors from Eastern Environmental Management placed absorbent pads within the boom to capture concentrations of the products. Workers also collected oily debris floating in the water.
As of Sunday night, 63 barrels of soiled absorbent pads and debris were recovered.
“We’re making strong headway right now,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Kevin Ouyoumjian, a marine science technician assigned to Sector North Carolina. “Removing the oiled debris will also reduce the amount of sheen on the water.”
Ouyoumjian added that the area enclosed by the boom has been safely reduced to just the affected docks at McCotters Marina in order to concentrate the clean-up operations and to minimize inconvenience to neighboring facilities.
It is not known when the clean up will be completed. Expected inclement weather, including snow and sleet, may affect the recovery operations, which involve working on docks and in small boats.
“Weather poses a challenge,” said Ouyoumjian. “We must balance quickly cleaning up Broad Creek with the safety of our personnel, and we do not want to put people’s lives in danger in those types of conditions.”
| Date Taken: | 01.09.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 01.10.2011 16:33 |
| Story ID: | 63319 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 397 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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