On June 27, 2012 at approximately 8:30 AM On Scene Coordinators(OSCs) Anita Boseman and Jacob Hassan responded to NRC Report # 1015844 which reported a significant sheen on the Illinois River covering the entire portion of the river that was visible to the reporting party.
Once on scene the OSCs verified that the sheen/oil extended approximately one mile, bank to bank, along the river. The location of the incident had been reported inaccurately, the sheen was actually on the Des Plaines River at mile marker 287.
ERRS contractors arrived on scene at approximately 12:30 PM on June 27, 2012 to deploy containment and sorbent boom and to assist with investigation activities. After a thorough investigation, no source was identified. USEPA responded to a similar report of sheen in the same location during the winter of 2011. In order to help identify the product and possibly the source, OSCs Boseman and Hassan collected 2 samples of the sheen/oil, one sample will be sent to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) laboratory for fingerprint analysis, the other sample will be analyzed for for oil categorization and disposal parameters at a local laboratory.
