20 Years To Clean Remainder of Greenpoint Spill?
April 12, 2006The Seattle Times has an Associated Press article which provides a classic quote from a plaintiff in the Greenpoint oil spill class action lawsuit. When told the cleanup could take 20 years:
"Twenty years! Are they kidding?" said one plaintiff, Robert McErlean, 58. "If they wanted to come in and drill for oil for profit, you know they'd have that oil out in 20 days!"
Unfortunately, Mr. McErlean is probably right. Only half of the spill has been cleaned, and the size of it was discovered in 1978, years after oil companies had left the Brooklyn waterfront.
Regarding the cleanup:
"We know there are technologies out there that are ... a lot more aggressive," said Riverkeeper investigator Basil Seggos. Such improvements, he said, might include installing wells to clean the groundwater instead of simply removing the oil, and using ventilation systems that draw away gases.