From 1962 to 1985, Metal Bank of America Inc. owned and operated a salvage yard adjacent to the Delaware River. The facility recycled scrap metal and electrical transformers from various utility companies. Oil containing PCBs and other contaminants was released into the environment during the salvage process, and also leaked from an underground storage tank.
Hazardous Waste Site | Wood-Ridge, East Rutherford, and Carlstadt, NJ | 1929 to Present
Starting in 1929, several industrial facilities released mercury, PCBs, PAHs, VOCs, and other hazardous substances into Berry’s Creek and the surrounding area.
Hazardous Waste Site | New Jersey | 1940s to present
In the 1950s and 1960s, Agent Orange was manufactured at a facility on the banks of the Lower Passaic River (LPR). One of the byproducts of its production, the toxin TCDD was released into the estuary.
On November 26, 2004, the M/T Athos I hit several submerged objects in the Delaware River while preparing to dock at a refinery in Paulsboro, New Jersey. A nine-ton anchor punctured the vessel’s bottom, releasing nearly 265,000 gallons of crude oil into the Delaware River and nearby tributaries.
Beginning as early as the 1870s, various industrial facilities released PCBs, heavy metals, and PAHs to the Sheboygan River and the surrounding area. EPA designated the lower 14 miles of the Sheboygan River a Superfund site in 1986.
In the early 1900s, industrialization in Commencement Bay led to the filling of a vast area of tideflats, as well of channelization of the meandering streams and rivers that flowed into the bay. Beginning in the 1920s, the resulting eight channelized waterways received releases of hazardous substances from various industries, including shipbuilding, oil refining, and chemical manufacturing plants.
On June 10, 1999, a rupture in the Olympic Pipeline discharged approximately 236,000 gallons of gasoline into a tributary of Whatcom Creek. Fumes from the gasoline ignited as it moved down Whatcom Creek, through a city park and residential neighborhoods.
Ship Grounding | Kalaeloa Harbor, Hawaii | February 2010
On February 5, 2010, the cargo vessel M/V Vogetrader ran aground near Barber’s Point as it was entering Kalaeloa Harbor. The grounding and associated response activities caused substantial injuries to coral reef habitat, harming more than 100,000 coral colonies.
