Southern States Asphalt; Paducah, Kentucky

Paducah, Kentucky | 1996-Jul-25

Initial Notification: On May 5, 1996, about 25 barrels of heated asphalt meant for Ashland Oil Company's storage tanks were spilled into Lake Barkley in the Cumberland River. The spill was caused by a burst transfer hose. On July 21, 1996, the Executive Officer (XO) of MSO Paducah was fishing in Lake Barkley when he noticed tarballs and some oil sheens. The XO noted that some of the tarballs had short asphalt streamers attached to them. MSO Paducah decided to re-investigate the incident. On July 22, 1996, a dive team surveyed the area of the spill around the mooring cells and found new product and old product. The new product was 3 to 18 inches thick; the old product was crumbly and covered with approximately six inches of sediment. USCG district 8.