British Petroleum Crude Asphalt; Toledo, Ohio, Maumee River, Grassy Island

Toledo, Ohio, Maumee River, Grassy Island | 1996-Aug-05

Initial Notification: On Monday, August 5, 1996, the British Petroleum (BP) Toledo Refinery vented about 60 barrels of atomized crude asphalt into the air via a low-pressure steam vent. The oil rained on a portion of Toledo, Ohio. The incident received some media play from CNN, the Windsor, Ontario news, and the local Toledo news. BP hired MPC to perform the cleanup. They washed boats and cars that had been oiled. The oil that fell in the Maumee River (estimated 30 to 50 barrels) floated to Grassy Island on a southeasterly wind. Approximately 1,500 feet of Grassy Island shoreline was oiled. MPC spent approximately two weeks conducting cleanup operations using low-pressure, high-volume, Lake Erie water flushing, together with hard and sorbent booms. A vacuum barge was used to clean up miscellaneous sheen. The FOSC was MSO Toledo, the SOSC was Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OHEPA), and the RP was BP. USCG district 9. Keyword: low-pressure flushing, sorbent boom.