Cleveland Oil Recycling Plant Suspected in Deaths of 500 Gulls

In late June, more than 500 ring-billed gulls were found dead in Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River, only a couple days after the 40th anniversary of the day the river caught fire at roughly the same spot.  On Monday, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District issued a report naming Sanimax, Inc., a nearby oil recycler, as a suspect in the spill of hundreds of gallons of cooking oil that caused the incident.  Lab results comparing oil from the spill to oil being released by Sanimax were indefinite, though, so Sanimax has not been directly blamed.

Originally, EPA officials zeroed in on a different sewer outfall downstream from the spill known as Kingsbury Run, thinking the oil may have been blown upstream by wind, a possibility they are still considering.  But the “fingerprint” of oil from the spill is closer to oil found at Sanimax than to that of the discharge at Kingsbury Run.

Also, Scott Broski, manager of Water Quality & Industrial Surveillance for the sewer district, said dye tests show that all of Sanimax’s drains, including the toilets, were channeled into a storm sewer and into the river.  His department is investigating how that connection was made.  The company is cooperating and is currently using portable toilets.

On July 9th, the EPA had issued a notice a notice of violation ordering Sanimax to clean up the spill and stop dumping oil in the river.  The EPA indicated it would not pursue further action against the company.

The spilled oil gathered mainly near the currently idle ArcellorMittal Steel Plant where Ohio wildlife officials say more than 10,000 gulls are nesting.  The city of Cleveland has been attempting to lower its gull population, so at least 30 oil-covered gulls that survived the spill were euthanized.  Dan Kramer, supervisor of the Division of Wildlife, said they were “very weak.”

The content of this post was originally reported in the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Youngstown Vindicator.

Photo Credit: Laszlo-photo at Flicker