Greenpoint oil spill
The Greenpoint oil spill is one of the largest oil spills ever recorded in the United States. Located around Newtown Creek in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, between 17 and 30 million US gallons (64,000 and 114,000 m3) of oil and petroleum products have leaked into the soil from crude oil processing facilities over a period of several decades.
The areas of the northeast industrial section of Greenpoint along Newtown Creek were home to oil refineries from the 1840s, and by 1870 boasted more than 50 petroleum processing plants, many of which were incorporated into the Standard Oil Trust towards the end of the century. Standard Oil's successors (Mobil and later ExxonMobil) used the refining facilities until 1966 and later operated a bulk petroleum storage facility and a distribution terminal on the site until 1993. Other petroleum companies operating in the area were Amoco (later part of BP) and Paragon Oil (now part of ChevronTexaco).
In September 1978, a United States Coast Guard helicopter on a routine patrol discovered a plume of oil flowing in the creek, originating from a bulkhead at Meeker Avenue. A subsequent study revealed the large-scale soil contamination, which was estimated in excess of 50 acres (0.20 km2) and a spillage volume of more than 17 million US gallons (64,000 m3).
The first pumps were installed at the site in late 1979, and recovery efforts have increased over the years. The pump systems are operated by the site owners ExxonMobil,BP and, more recently, ChevronTexaco. Environmentalist organizations have said that there was little effort until the early 1990s and have labelled the clean up operations "rudimentary". In January 2006 the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, backed by the involved companies, asserted that 9 million US gallons (34,000 m3) of spilled oil had been recovered and cleaned up.
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