Stream remediation following a gasoline spill

On June 10, 1999, a pipe ruptured on the Olympic Pipe Line causing the release, explosion and fire of up to one million litres of gasoline in Bellingham, Washington. It affected approximately 5 km of the Whatcom Creek ecosystem. Following the incident, several concurrent activities in the source area and downstream occurred. This paper discussed the remediation of the affected stream bed sections. During the period July 6 - August 16, an interagency project was implemented. It involved mechanical, manual, and hydraulic in-situ treatment techniques to remove the gasoline from the stream bed and the banks. In addition, a series of controlled, hydraulic flushes were conducted. The sluice or control gates at the head of the Whatcom Creek were opened each night, and bigger flushes took place before and after the treatments. Simultaneously, water and sediment were sampled and analysed. The data obtained provided information on the state of the initial stream water and stream sediment and on the effects that the remediation had had. The residual gasoline was successfully removed from the sediments and river banks in six weeks. No downstream movement of the released gasoline towards Bellingham was detected. 3 refs., 2 tabs., 11 figs