Toxin Spill!!

[Evan0505]

Today i was watching the news and heard some very disturbing news. A truck filled with containers of a toxic pesticide crashed and leaked a bunch of crap into a creek that ran into the columbia near the dalles. They showed footage of a milkey white creek spilling its toxic contents into the columbia. They announced that it is highly toxic to fish, and it will probably kill all the fish in the creek (adult salmon and smolts). How can this kinda of crap happen. I hope the company will be punished severly. MAN this really ****** me off. Scratch down one more dead river in Oregon. If we plan on saving or improving the salmon and steelhead we need to stop crap like this from happening. (and tear down all the damn dams!!!)
Does anyone know if or how this company will be punished (since they have harmed engangered species). AAAAAARRRRGGGGG!!!!

Tight Lines

[This message has been edited by Evan0505 (edited 08-22-2000).]

[KrystalFlash]

Evan,

Most likely, the lawyers will get involved, and the whole thing will be forgotten, or they'll get flogged with a wet noodle. This is how our system works. I think they should make the responsible parties restore the habitat that they destroyed, one way or another. This is the appropriate action, in my opinion.

It is Good to be Lucky....

[This message has been edited by KrystalFlash (edited 08-22-2000).]

[cts258]

in a situation like that the federal gov. will step in. Pesticides are controled by federal standards. rule #1 is no pesticides are to be used near any water. and is the handers responsability to make sure that any spill does not enter any water way or sewar system at all cost. That truck is required by law to carry spill absorbent. The company will loss there pesticide licence and will be responsiable for all cost of the clean up plus get a heafty fine. Oregon can file charges also, so with the federal gov. and oregon fines can put them out of business. The big problem is that pesticides mix with water and does not float like oil so there is no way to clean up a spill that has entered a stream or river.

Do you know how much was spilled and what was spilled??????

[steelyhornhntr]

As a farmer I deal with chemicals on a daily basis. This would have to be your very worst nightmare!!! The EPA will hammer their butts to the wall...I will bet that they are scared sh**less unless they have a huge insurance policy!! Believe me when I say that this is a serious subject for both sides! In the end we both lose.

[Deleted User]

I hope you're right that they will pay dearly for this! ANd it's publisized widely. How can companies like this one, and Exon (The Big Spill in AK), put such incompetent drivers and captains at the wheel of such destructive materials?!? The song rings in my ears again: "When will they ever learn, when will the EVER learn"? The answer is "blowing in the wind" of incompetent leaders! - RT

[Jennie@ifish]

Yeah, in the end, we both lose. After all, no amount of money will make up for the destruction this will cause.
Makes me very sad.
Jen

[NorthRiverS]

My big question is how far down the Columbia River will this stuff continue to kill fish? Does anyone know if the Fall Chinook, Coho, and steelhead will be damaged?

[steelyhornhntr]

I will depend on the type of chemical. It should delute itself out but not after some serious damage has been done to the creek. Also, the seriousness maybe overated since I really do not know what type of chemical was spilled.. It still won't matter to the EPA because anything foreign in the water is a serious taboo!!!!!

[cts258]

does anybody know anyone from the fish&wildlife????? They should be involved and be working with the EPA on this. It would be easiest to get answeres from them. Im sure they will give the truth.

after seeing how the EPA deals with spills into water ways I can tell you they dont play around. and they will nail that co. to the wall.

[nipper]

Clipped this from a web local news page. I don't know what Goal is, but I'm pretty sure we don't want it in the water

...
The truck was carrying the household herbicide "Goal" when the driver lost control about 4:30 a.m., according to Lt. Gregg Hastings, Oregon State Police spokesman.
...

[Hairball]

I found some more info on the spill.


Herbicide Spill Threatens Oregon Salmon

Aug. 23, 2000 — A semitrailer that crashed and caught fire Tuesday dumped herbicide into a Columbia River tributary, posing a threat to endangered salmon, according to The Associated Press.
The truck leaked about 3,000 gallons of the household herbicide "Goal'' into Fifteenmile Creek and its surrounding soil about a quarter mile from where it empties into the Columbia, turning that section of the creek white.

According to Ann Pressentin, spokeswoman for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, several hundred juvenile lamprey and other fish were killed by the herbicide.

``It is suspected that anything in the creek is most likely dead,'' said Heidi Helwig of the Army Corps of Engineers.

In an effort to prevent the herbicide from entering the Columbia, hazardous-waste experts put up a boom and an overflow dam. However, some of the chemical has flowed into the river.

Pressentin said the herbicide — oxyfluorfen — could endanger two fall Chinook salmon species and three steelhead species, although none had been found dead as of late Tuesday. Since the chemical will sink, the river's sturgeon, which are bottom-feeders, are at risk, she said.

The driver, James Shreve, 37, of Union City, Pa., has been cited with careless driving.

[Pete]

This toxic spill is certainly a tragedy, but consider what would have happened if this household herbicide had been used as intended. Homeowners would have spread it around their homes where it would wash off into the river system. As a toxic spill we have a "point source" pollution problem. Spread on lawns it is a "non-point source" pollution problem. DEQ at al are pretty well equipped to deal with point source problems. The non-point source problem is a really thorny issue and it doesn't make the news, but it is probably a bigger threat to our finned friends.

[Hairball]

WOW!!! after reading that I’ll pass on the B-10 fishing.

[Fishin' Freak]

The fishing at B-10 should be fine, we are onlt talking about 13,000 gallons of herbicide, which should delute by the time it hits Bonneville let alone the mouth of the Columbia. Especially considering the majority of the spill was kept within Fifteen Mile Creek. I am more curious about the 4,000 Fall Chinook that are making thier way over Bonneville a day, as well as the 4,000 steelhead a day. Considering a large chunk of these fish are on their way to the Snake River system and we already know what poor shape that fisherie is in what will this do to the dwindling numbers of Snake River fish? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Bait O' Eggs]

ran a search on oxyfluorfen which is what the Oregonian said the chemical was in the spill. Maybe 550 pound fish will mutate from this crap.
www.reninet.com/catz/goa.htm (http://www.reninet.com/catz/goa.htm)

After reading the link who want to fish B10 this weekend?


[This message has been edited by Bait O' Eggs (edited 08-23-2000).]

[steelyhornhntr]

Okiss, I think you said it well.. Goal is a herbicide and definately not as lethal as many other products.. We should feel lucky in that regard.. I could think of alot of other chemicals that wouldn't be as forgiving. The company involved will still end up paying dearly. In some cases it could even cause bankruptcy!! The EPA dudes don't mess around..I farm around several water ways and I take extra precautions to try and avoid this type of situation..I can't think of a worse accident to have in your business(excluding the death of an employee of course). As far as toxicity I wouldn't be the least bit worried.. You'll get more toxicity out of a Big Mac than a fish down river!!Just my opinion, it isn't a fact!!!

[cts258]

Steely I agree with you. The DEQ has the worst of the spill contained and you do get more toxins from everyday food and products than what you would get from a fish.

[Deleted User]

My thoughts,

Quite a bit of dilution would occur in the Columbia. The pesticide is also not extremely persistent, but does seem stick around for a while (unlike something like DDT which would stick around for years). Its heavier than water so it would probably settle into fine sediment deposits in pools and probably near the mouth. The more agitation, the more the stuff will dissipate and eventually evaporate into the air.

Unfortunately, a lot of juveniles and smolts in the stream probably bought it; hopefully there is a lot of habitat and hence fish upstream of the spill. Fortunately, its near seasonal low water times of the year, which means that adults probably haven't started migrating to smaller tributaries (though it depends on the size of this stream), even though there are a lot of fish in the Columbia right now.

If adults are staging at the mouth of the creek, theres a chance of some mortality as the plume enters the river, but given the mobility of the adults, this would probably be minor, measured in individuals, as opposed to populations of fish. Remember there would be quite a bit of dilution as the plume hits the Columbia, so the chances of the plume just knocking adults out before they have a chance to scatter is probably pretty low.

Again, given the only moderate persistence of the stuff, it would probably dissipate from the system in less than a season. The fall rains, which spur migration, will also do a lot to dissipate the stuff, clearing the channel for adults. The stuff won't accumulate near spawning gravels, so it probably won't affect spawning grounds or incubating eggs.

As mentioned by other folks, don't worry down at Buoy 10, the Columbia is a real big river. The stuff probably won't be detectable a few hundred yards downstream of the mouth of the creek.

All in all, mother nature has a way of fixing these short-term events; its when discharges are continuous or spills are often, even in much smaller amounts....this is when we get into trouble, and habitats are degraded to the point where fish can't use them anymore.

[Grant Scheele]

Just for the record! There are now two O.Mykiss's on the DB. Grant

[Hairball]

Told you that was nasty stuff