Chemical Spill Cleanup Completed in Port of Long Beach

The cleanup and recovery operations have been finalized on the 98,849 dwt container ship Harbour Bridge in the Port of Long Beach following the spill of propyl acetate.

The United States Coast Guard informed that the Unified Command completed the response to the spill which occurred in the morning hours of August 6 at Pier G Berth 232 in the port.

The substance spilled when a tank, containing 6,600 gallons of propyl acetate, was punctured during loading operations. The chemical was mostly contained on the pier, but some residual recovered material reached the water.

Propyl acetate was transferred to storage tanks, which were segregated from other cargo. The chemical will be properly disposed at a later time, USCG said.

Twelve longshoremen were exposed to the product, all of whom were treated and released. The coast guard added that a firefighter and a longshoreman were injured in the incident. They were sent to the hospital and were later released with minor injuries.