Styrene Spill; New Haven Harbor, CT

New Haven Harbor, CT | 2006-Sep-05

Initial Notification: At approximately 0515 hours this morning a tanker truck overturned on I-95 in New Haven, Connecticut just before the New Haven River Bridge. According to the USCG, the tanker truck was carrying an estimated 8,000 gallons of styrene. About 6,000 gallons was released into the environment with the majority of it soaking into the surrounding ground. However, an unknown amount of styrene appears to have spilled onto the roadway and made its way into at least one if not several storm water drains. These stormwater drains discharge into the New Haven River. USCG has a vessel on the river in the immediate area of the spill location.The USCG did report observing a sheen in the vicinity of the incident, but the sheen did not have any odor associated with it nor was it opaque in color what would be the expected color of the sheen if it was floating styrene. Federal EPA (ERT, Edison, NJ) in route ans will serve as Federal OSC. Connecticut DEP and USCG providing response support. NOAA has been requested by USCG to provide tidal, weather, chemical characterization, and trajectory support.