See NRC Report #910045 for initial report.
FPN: E09523
On June 28, 2009, a report of oil on an un-named creek was discovered by a security guard who was conducting his daily site inspections. The surrounding area is commercial and industrial. The un-named creek is a tributary to the Scioto River. The local Fire Department and OEPA responded to the incident to investigate. Approximately 1.5 miles downstream of the creek had been impacted. The Fire Department (FD) constructed a small siphon dam in an attempt to contain the fuel/oil. OEPA found the leading edge of the plume and deployed containment boom in an effort to minimize impact. The exact quantity of fuel/oil released is unknown. OEPA requested U.S. EPA assistance for recovery and clean up.
The OEPA and FD tracked the oil back to the Norfolk Southern – Buckeye yard located in Columbus, Ohio. The cause of the spill is still under investigation, although it is believed to be related to a pump failure within their oil water separator. The rail yard where the oil water separator is located is not in operation. Once Norfolk Southern was made aware of the situation, a local clean up contractor was mobilized to the site.
At U.S.EPA/OEPA's direction, the local clean up contractor installed containment booms and set up vacuum truck operations in five areas along the unnamed creek. By the morning of June 29th, major oil recovery operations had been completed. In addition, a siphon dam was installed along the rail yard's eastern boundary to prevent the further release of oil off site. Contractor crews continued to remove residual oil from the five operation areas along the creekbed through June 29th.
