Text Table 6.3  Significant Spills of Oil and Hazardous Substances In and Around U.S. Waters, by Type and Volume, 1994-1998

Year Polluting substance Volume, in gallons Receiving waterbody State or Territory Cause of spill
           
1994 Heavy fuel oil 750,000 Atlantic Ocean Puerto Rico Tank barge grounded
1994 Crude oil 320,000 San Jacinto River Texas Facility flood damage
1994 Oil condensate 176,694 Gulf of Mexico na Subsea pipeline ruptured
1994 Gasoline 300,000 Mississippi River Missouri Storage tank leak
1994 Crude oil 90,342 Tributary1 Texas Pipeline ruptured
1995 Turpentine 700,000 Estuary2 Georgia Storage tank fire
1995 Sodium hydroxide 135,000 Estuary2 Georgia Storage tank fire
1995 Slurry oil 194,502 Mississippi River Louisiana Tank barge collision
1995 Diesel fuel oil 95,500 Gulf of Mexico3 na Two ships collided
1995 Crude oil 60,000 Delaware River New Jersey Transfer hose damage
1996 No. 2 oil 957,600 Reedy River South Carolina Pipeline ruptured
1996 No. 2 oil 828,000 Moonstone Beach (Atlantic Ocean) Rhode Island Tank barge grounded
1996 Oil condensate 200,000 Atchafalaya River Louisiana Oil rig gasket failure
1996 Fuel oil 176,400 Galveston Bay Texas Tank barge damage
1996 Fuel oil 165,900 Casco Bay Maine Tank ship hit bridge
1997 Oil 84,000 Creek Louisiana Storage tank overflow
1997 Crude oil 210,000 Lake Barre Louisiana Pipeline ruptured
1998 Diesel fuel 118,000 Pacific Ocean na Fishing vessel sank
1998 Crude oil 154,000 Mississippi River Louisiana Tank barge collision

Source: U.S. Deptartment of Transportation, United States Coast Guard, Pollution Incidents In and Around U.S. Waters: A Spill/Release Compendium, 1969-1999 (DOT, USCG, Washington, DC, 2000).

Notes: 1Crude oil was spilled into a tributary of the Nueces and Corpus Christi Bays. 2A storage tank caught fire and exploded near Savannah, Georgia, spilling pollutants into the water. 3Two foreign flag freight vessels collided in the Gulf of Mexico, near the Southwest Pass entrance to the Mississippi River.

Last Updated on 1/21/01