USCG, EPA tackle oil and chemical spills from Hurricane Harvey

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that more than 22,000 barrels of oil and chemicals have spilled across Texas and the Gulf due to damages from Hurricane Harvey, according to report from Reuters news service.    Three weeks after Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf coast, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have estimated that more than 22,000 barrels of oil, refined fuels and chemicals have spilled at sites across Texas, according to U.S. Coast Guard reports reviewed by Reuters.
   The spillage includes over 950 orphan containers, varying in size, that have been collected, identified and secured for disposal by the EPA and the Coast Guard, American Shipper was told in a statement.
   While the Texas spills are less than the 190,000 barrels spilled in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, they still “rank among the worst environmental mishaps in the country in years,” said Reuters.
   Of the 22,000 barrels spilled, crude oil, gasoline, diesel, drilling wastewater, and petrochemicals from refineries, storage terminals and other facilities make up much of the spillage.
   According to Reuters, 10,988 barrels of unleaded gasoline spilled from Magellan Midstream Partners’ storage facility in Galena Park, Texas. The company expects clean-up operations to be completed within a few weeks, stating that spills into the Houston Ship Channel had already been cleaned up.
   It has also reported that 365 tons of toxic chemicals like sulfur dioxide, ammonia, toluene, benzene, and carbon monoxide escaped from facilities during the storm, along with 27 million cubic feet of natural gas, 1,000 tons of asphalt, and “unknown quantities of other substances from more than 200 other incidents” also escaped. Furthermore, the spill estimates are not yet complete.
   According to Reuters, Valero Energy Corp. told the EPA that its chemical emissions from a tank collapse in Houston are underestimated.
   “We have been diligent in responsibly addressing the tank release and taking steps to minimize any potential impacts,” the company stated. Air monitoring systems that showed elevated benzene and other emissions likely included sources other than its own plant, said Valero.
   The EPA estimates that disposal of the orphan containers will take up to three weeks and a small team will remain on-site to complete this activity, the EPA told American Shipper in a statement. 
   The US Coast Guard and Texas General Land Office will continue to address vessel recovery under a separate mission assignment, the EPA said.