Ohio Oil Spill After Tanker Truck Transfer Mishap Already Under Cleanup, Remedial Efforts

(Photo : Mike Simons / Getty Images)
Cleanup and remedial efforts for the recent oil spill in Ohio are underway.

Cleanup and remedial efforts for the recent oil spill in Ohio are underway.

In Ohio, there was a recent oil spill caused by a tanker truck transfer oversight, which is now being cleaned up and remedied.

Oil Spill in Ohio

At a site on Snyder Avenue last week, Noble Oil Services was moving oil from a tanker truck to a rail car when it spilled the oil down a storm sewer that empties into the Tuscarawas River close to the Wolf Creek Trailhead of the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Barberton.

Since then, the spill's impacts have been addressed by the Barberton Fire Department, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The quantity of oil leaked has not yet been established, according to Ohio EPA official Dina Pierce.

Drinking Water Worries

According to Pierce, because the reservoir that provides the public drinking water for Barberton is upstream from the spill, this occurrence shouldn't have any negative effects on it. Drinking the public water supply is still safe.

William Judge, the mayor of Barberton, stated that the city has gotten in touch with several villages downstream. He stated that he has no reason to think they have been negatively impacted based on the data he has received.

Judge stated that they got in touch with New Franklin, Clinton, but the leak may extend to Massillon.

Cleanup and Remedial Efforts

According to Simplex, the oil has been contained in the area between Vanderhoof Road and Snyder Avenue since the last boom at Center Road, where no oil was discovered.

Near the source of the incident, at least one individual has noticed oily water leaking through the initial set of booms, but Pierce said this is typical and that measures have been implemented to ensure a thorough cleaning.

Pierce clarified that the material is being collected by the environmental contractor using vacuum or suction equipment to be transported off-site and treated at a facility that is permitted to accept waste oil.

Wildlife officers are performing surveys and patrols in the impacted region, according to Stephanie O'Grady with the ODNR, to see if the local wildlife is still suffering.

They have found and saved several oil-covered birds thus far.

As per O'Grady, as long as the remediation and cleanup work goes on, the number of impacted animals should gradually decline.

Pierce stated that flushing, containing, and capturing the waste normally takes several days, but we are unable to predict how long it will take to fully clean up the incident.

According to her, Noble Oil Services will be held accountable because the expense of remediation is charged to the person at fault. Noble's involvement in the spill response was not immediately available, according to a company representative who said he was on the scene Tuesday.

Pierce said that the cleanup is currently the main priority. The timing of notices of violations and other enforcement actions is typically decided later, Akron Beacon Journal reported.

Also Read: Beer Factory in Okinawa Colors Port Waters Blood-Red in Dye Spill, Locals Alarmed

Historic Oil Spill in the US

Each year, thousands of oil spills have place in US seas, most of which are minor and release a fraction of a barrel of oil.

But since the famous Santa Barbara, California, oil well accident in 1969, there were at least 44 oil spills that have affected US seas, each involving more than 420,000 gallons.

Among these, the Deepwater Horizon drilling blowout in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 was the largest, according to NOAA.