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Green Point Oil Pollution

Green Point Oil Pollution. By: Grant Wells Andrew Tyshovnytsky. Introduction. Occurred between 1950s until 1978 Approx. 20 mil Gallons Spilt Covered Area of 55 Acres Spill Encompassed both Residential & Commercial Zoned Regions of Green point. Parties Found Guilty in Oil Spill.

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Green Point Oil Pollution

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  1. Green Point Oil Pollution By: Grant Wells Andrew Tyshovnytsky

  2. Introduction • Occurred between 1950s until 1978 • Approx. 20 mil Gallons Spilt • Covered Area of 55 Acres • Spill Encompassed both Residential & Commercial Zoned Regions of Green point

  3. Parties Found Guilty in Oil Spill • All three co’s operated in spill vicinity between 1950 and 1979 • True guilty party is still unknown

  4. Costs Associated to Polluters Prolonged cleanup created increased legal fees Damaged image due to reluctance to remedy spill Cleanup completion determined by EPA and NY State Government Est. $15-20 Million spent in 2008 by Exxon $58 Million+ in Remedies sought by class action groups Costs Associated to Environment Hazardous levels of benzene Layers of oil underneath affected areas Extreme levels of Methane Decreased property values relative to surrounding area Total Cost of Oil Spill

  5. Ecological Damage • Newtown Creek was once a fresh ground water-fed creek, can never be cleaned to previous state • Sediment samples of area are 1/10th oil • Lack of Oxygen in Water due to high concentrations of oil • Raw sewage continues to be dumped into creek as a result of poor living conditions • In 2002, Empire Transit Mix dumped concrete slurry into creek, changed pH to 12 until the slurry was cleanup up in 2005 Newtown Creek in 2002 after concrete leakage

  6. Polluter’s Reconciliation Efforts • ExxonMobil installation of groundwater filtration tanks • Increased placement of oil booms in Newtown Creek area • Placement of grout walls to block further oil penetration into Green Point soil • Estimated cleanup of area is between 2015 and 2020 ExxonMobil Filtration Tanks

  7. Health Disturbances to Affected Area • Benzene Soil Concentration: 3.7-200ppm v. EPA Safe Level of 1ppm • Methane Air Pollution: 23.1k-290kppm, levels in EPA “Upper Explosive Limit”

  8. Benzene Causes certain blood cancers such as Lymphoma and Leukemia Levels in Newtown Creek/Green Point area could increase such cancers by 4 more reported cases for every 100,000 people Prolonged exposure may result in reproductive and menstrual problems in women Methane Hazardous to humans above 5% in air levels Causes asphyxiation or the deprivation of oxygen to the body Extremely hazardous at 12% and above, in which breathing and pulse rate are increased, and unconsciousness may occur Levels found in Green Point lie ranging from 2.5% to 30% presenting a large risk to inhabitants of area Effects of Pollutants in Area

  9. Further Coverage of Spill and Green Point Area Information • CBS News Piece 11.28.2006 • Additional current information may obtained at: • http://www.riverkeeper.org/

  10. Looking Forward… • Cleanup Efforts Continued?? • Health Risks to Residents • Class Action Decision • Public Awareness

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