Northwest Enviro Service; Duwamish Waterway, Seattle, Washington

Duwamish Waterway, Seattle, Washington | 1994-Feb-15

Initial Notification: Valves on a portable railroad intermodal tank car parked on the Northwest Enviro Service facility in Seattle, Washington were deliberately opened by unknown persons the evening of February 14, 1994, releasing approximately 5,000 gallons of mixed waste solvents. The material ran into drains that emptied into a nearby marsh connected to the Duwamish Waterway through an underground drainage pipe and culvert. The spill was discovered by facility employees the following morning and reported to the National Response Center by 0945. Spilled material had spread into a nearby marsh, and by 1300 was observed escaping from a culvert near Terminal 115 into the Duwamish Waterway. Containment and cleanup were begun by 1100 on February 15. By February 16 most of the free-floating product was recovered using vacuum trucks and absorbents. Cleanup of the contaminated soils at the original spill site and passive absorption of sheens tidally flushing out of the contaminated drainage pipe between the marsh and the Duwamish waterway continued until February 21. The USCG pollution case was closed on February 23. USCG district 13. Keyword: CERCLA response, solvents, waste oil, vacuum recovery.