EPA Says 'No Hydrocarbons above drinking water standards' in Yellowstone River

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Created on Friday, 08 July 2011 08:38

 At approximately 11:00 pm, on Friday, July 1 a break occurred in a 12-inch pipeline owned by ExxonMobil that resulted in a spill of crude oil into the Yellowstone River approximately 20 miles upstream of Billings, Montana. According to the company’s estimates, 1,000 barrels of oil entered the river, which is in flood stage, before the pipeline was cut off. EPA’s primary concern is protection of human health and the environment, and the agency is conducting both air and water sampling to determine what impacts the spill may have on air or water quality, while also ensuring the responsible party is held accountable. Air monitoring using real-time instruments that look for volatile organic compounds and hydrogen sulfide continue to show no detections in ambient air along the Yellowstone River.  Additionally, air sampling for benzene has been conducted between Laurel, MT, and Billings, MT, with no detections.  We have collected six 24-hour air samples at locations along the Yellowstone River to ensure the continued protection of the community and emergency responders and will publish these results as soon as they are available.

Yellowstone County's health department, Riverstone, also reported that there have been very few health concerns. 

Water sampling conducted by EPA between Laurel and Miles City, MT indicates there are no petroleum hydrocarbons above drinking water levels standards in that region.  Preliminary results indicate that the Yellowstone River opposes no threat to agriculture use.  Prior sampling and ongoing monitoring indicate that the municipal drinking water supplies in these areas remain safe.  Fully validated results will be on the EPA website within the next few days.  EPA will be coordinating domestic well water testing and conducting indoor air sampling at residences impacted by the spill.

EPA is also directing and overseeing cleanup activities since arriving at the site. As of Thursday, July 7, approximately 544 personnel are involved in the incident response and over 360 are in the field conducting cleanup operations and recovering oil. Personnel continue to walk the shores and deploy absorbent boom along the river banks to absorb oil that has collected in slow water areas along the shoreline. While most of the oil has been encountered within 30 miles of the spill, a pocket of emulsified oil has been spotted approximately 80 miles downstream.  No evidence of visible oil staining or emulsified oil has sighted beyond this point during ground and aerial reconnaissance to Miles City.

On July 6, EPA issued an order to ExxonMobil, pursuant to the Clean Water Act, directing the company to take a number of clean-up and restoration activities as a result of an oil spill into the Yellowstone River.  EPA will continue in Sits role in directing and overseeing the cleanup and restoration of the river and ensuring the protection of human health and the environment.

EPA is coordinating its response actions with the Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service and state and local agencies and will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure ExxonMobil, as the responsible party, addresses any and all potential impacts of this spill. In addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is responsible for determining the cause of the pipeline failure and has been onsite since Saturday.

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Also reporting:

Riverstone says, "small number of health concerns..."

BILLINGS, MT – Since the beginning hours of recovery from the Silvertip Pipeline oil spill, the Unified Health Command (UHC) of Yellowstone County (RiverStone Health, Billings Clinic, St. Vincent Healthcare and Yellowstone County Disaster and Emergency Services) has been working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ExxonMobil and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to protect the health and safety of the community.  Information is readily being shared and public’s health monitored for adverse affects from the spill.  To-date, very few health concerns have been reported and there have been no hospitalizations related to the spill. 

“Our community has been impacted by a very unfortunate event,” said John Felton, Yellowstone County Health Officer and President& CEO of RiverStone Health, the county’s public health agency.  “The public’s health is our number one priority and if anyone is experiencing adverse health effects that may be related to the oil spill, they should seek medical attention and call the oil spill information line at 1-888-382-0043 so that their concern can be documented.” 

The small number of health concerns thus far have been primarily related to headaches and breathing difficulties.  In addition, odor from the oil spill has also been a concern.  “As the clean-up efforts continue, we expect odors to become less noticeable, but realize that we all have different sensitivities,” said Felton.  “Just as some people are more sensitive to skunk spray or perfumes, some people will be sensitive to the odors related to the spill.”

The EPA has been sampling the air and water and results indicate that direct readings for certain compounds have been undetectable.  For more information on the EPA’s efforts go to http://epa.gov/yellowstoneriverspill

The UHC continues to recommend that residents not clean-up oil on their property.  Specially trained workers are handling that task.  Keep your family and pets away from oil-contaminated areas and if you do come in contact with oil, wash immediately with soap and water or a cleanser designed to remove grease. 

The UHC will continue to monitor the public’s health as the clean-up continues.  As more information becomes available and/or if conditions change, the UHC will post information on member websites and notify the community of recent developments. 

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