Marine Pollution Control8631 West Jefferson Avenue
Detroit, MI 48209 USA
313.849.2333 - 24/hour
11320 E Lakewood Blvd., #11
Holland, MI 49424
800-521-8232 – 24/Hour
GSA Contract #: GS-10F-0268R
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Polluting Plastic Particles Invade the Great Lakes
April 10, 2013
Floating plastic debris -- which helps populate the infamous "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" in the Pacific Ocean -- has become a problem in the Great Lakes, the largest body of fresh water in the world. Scientists reported on the latest findings from the Great Lakes in New Orleans on April 9 at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
"The massive production of plastic and inadequate disposal has made plastic debris an important and constant pollutant on beaches and in oceans around the world, and the Great Lakes are not an exception," said Lorena M. Rios Mendoza, Ph.D., who spoke on the topic at the meeting.
Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant finds second tank leak
April 8, 2013
(Reuters) - Radioactive water has apparently leaked from another underground storage tank at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co said on Sunday.
The utility, known as Tepco, said the volume of the latest leakage is believed to be small. On Saturday, it said as much as 120 tons of radioactive water may have leaked from another nearby storage tank.
The plant's seven storage tanks are lined with water proof sheets meant to keep the contaminated water from leaking into the soil. The power company has faced a range of problems with leaks and with the plant's cooling system.
U.S. government issues corrective order for Exxon spill
April 3, 2013
U.S. pipeline regulators on Tuesday ordered Exxon Mobil Corp to take necessary corrective action for its ruptured pipeline that spilled thousands of barrels of crude oil into a small Arkansas housing development last week.
The U.S. Transportation Department's Pipeline and Hazardous Safety Administration's corrective order said Exxon estimated that 3,500 to 5,000 barrels of crude spewed from the breach. Exxon had so far only said publicly that it had recovered 12,000 barrels of oil and water.
Third major oil spill in a week: Shell pipeline breaks in Texas
April 8, 2013
Thousands of gallons of oil have spilled from a pipeline in Texas, the third accident of its kind in only a week.
Shell Pipeline, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, shut down their West Columbia, Texas, pipeline last Friday after electronic calculations conducted by the US National Response Center showed that upwards of 700 barrels had been lost, amounting to almost 30,000 gallons of crude oil.
By Monday, Shell spokespeople said inspectors found “no evidence” of an oil leak, but days later it was revealed that a breach did occur. Representatives with the US Coast Guard confirmed to Dow Jones on Thursday that roughly 50 barrels of oil spilled from a pipe near Houston, Texas and entered a waterway that connects to the Gulf of Mexico.
Oregon fuel companies fined for federal oil spill prevention and response violations
April 2, 2013
Tyree Oil Inc., Carson Oil Co., and Ferrell’s Fuel Network will pay fines and invest in facility upgrades for violating federal oil spill prevention and response rules at their Oregon facilities, according to separate settlements with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA inspections of each facility from 2007 and 2011 found multiple violations of federal spill prevention rules and spill response requirements under the Clean Water Act, intended to protect people and the environment.
"Companies storing large amounts of fuel must be prepared to prevent and respond to fuel spills to protect people’s health and the environment," said Jeff KenKnight, manager of EPA Region 10 wastewater permits compliance unit. “With strong spill prevention and response plans in place, accidental fuel spills are far less likely to occur.”