Hood Canal Oil Spill - What may have been discharged into Hood Canal

What comes along with that oyster

from Hood Canal?



What Ohio Class Submarines contain their Waste Oil Containment Tanks
While waiting for additional information to be provided from agencies responsible for safe shellfish and Puget Sound's water quality, some may be interested in reading about what is contained in submarine bilge "water" and how it is handled. In "Submarine Bilgewater: Nature of Discharge" the Environmental Protection Agency describes the risk from what is contained in Ohio Class submarines' Waste Oil Containment Tanks (WOTC) this way:

Therefore, submarine bilgewater, uncontrolled, has the potential to cause an adverse

environmental effect.

Which tank was being pumped?
Detailed in the report mentioned above is how bilge "water" in the Ohio class submarines is dealt with. Of importance, it notes the oil and water are separated with the oil being retained until the submarines reach a land based facility. The "water" may be retained or discharged into the water, depending on location. The oil, however, is retained.

The upper, oil phase from the Waste Oil Collection Tank is discharged only to authorized shore facilities.

Was it oil or was it water or was it both?
What has not been made public by the agencies involved is what was being pumped when the failure resulting in the estimated 2,000 gallon discharge occurred. From the photos taken by the Department of Ecology is seems clear it was not simply dirty bilge water.

 

A sheen stretching 10 miles

What the discharge may have contained
Below is a table taken from the EPA report which indicates what have entered into Hood Canal and in turn may have been filtered by oysters along the shorelines of Hood Canal. How the Department of Health and the Department of Ecology are determining what may have been - or continues to be - filtered by shellfish in Hood Canal remains to be seen.

Discharged into Hood Canal

(click table to enlarge)