Port of Palm Beach; Palm Beach, Florida

Palm Beach, Florida | 1986-Jul-18

Initial Notification: On July 18, 1986, a security guard at the Port of Palm Beach noticed that a 20-foot high shipping container loaded with fifty-two 55-gallon drums was leaking an unknown material. Palm Beach Fire Department personnel identified the leaking material as cresylic acid. A contractor hired to clean up the spilled material overpacked seven drums found leaking inside the shipping container. An estimated 75 gallons of cresylic acid leaked from the drums. The cleanup contractor inspected the condition of the leaking drums and stated that the drums had been improperly reused and did not have the required liners inside. The overpack drums were shipped to a hazardous waste facility in Alabama. USCG district 7.