Threat Secured After Oil Spill Near Bronx River

YONKERS, N.Y. (CN) - There is no public-health threat after a tanker spilled 2,100 gallons of oil near the Bronx River, New York officials said Tuesday.

A spill-response team with the state Department of Environmental Conservation was quick to join Yonkers firefighters Monday morning when the spill occurred at 125 Bronx River Rd.

The road and a parkway of the same name separate the spill from the Bronx River, which runs into New York City, 23 miles south of the Kensico Dam in southern Westchester.

In addition to quickly containing 1,500 gallons from the spill Monday, firefighters pumped impacted sewer infrastructure, the DEC said.

Though the DEC has not named the company responsible for the spill, it did note that this company has hired TriState and Ken's Marine to control outfall to the river, "using sorbent pads to soak up oil along the Bronx River shoreline."

The DEC said its staff remain at the scene to supervise the ongoing cleanup efforts and to investigate contamination of the Bronx River.

Bronx River Road becomes Webster Avenue, in the Woodlawn section of the Bronx, two blocks below the spill site.

The DEC described conditions as improved Tuesday, adding "that there is no immediate threat to public health as a result of the spill."

Conservation efforts over the past century have had much success in reclaiming the river from industrial peril.

Mohegan Indians called it Aquehung, or the River of Hugh Bluffs. Beavers once dominated the river landscape but early settlers hunted the mammal to local extinction in the 1800s.

Though the river's cleanup has brought sightings of at least two beavers in recent years, pedestrians and bicyclists are more apt to see ducks, turtles, great blue heron and geese dotting the terrain.

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit