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Hurricane Katrina: Spill Notification

Release Date: 8/29/2005
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

As business and industry officials return to their facilities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the EPA reminds them to report spills to the National Response Center.  The Center is integral to these facilities' long-established procedures in preparedness and planning for natural disasters like hurricanes.  The Center serves as the sole point of contact for reporting all oil, chemical, radiological, and biological releases in the United States.  

Industries and businesses that encounter spills or discharges in the hurricane's aftermath should contact the Center immediately at (800) 424-8802 or (202) 267-2675.  The Center is available to take calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  

The Center supplies EPA's response personnel with incident reports of oil discharges and chemical releases.  This information helps EPA determine the Agency's next steps in responding to the natural disaster.  The information from the Center's reports, coupled with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Rapid Needs Assessment, will help EPA ensure the protection of public health and the environment.  EPA also coordinates with state and local agencies to support the affected communities.  

An additional emergency response tool is the ASPECT plane, which was developed through a partnership between EPA and the U.S. Department of Defense.  ASPECT, or Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology, is operated by EPA and provides emergency responders with information on possible chemical releases.  The ASPECT plane provides near-real-time data to first reponders on the ground.  EPA anticipates deploying the plane as soon as conditions allow.

EPA will continue to provide information as it becomes available.  Reporters should contact the EPA Press Office at (214) 665-2200 for interviews and additional information.

Additional resources:
EPA: https://www.epa.gov/
National Response Center: http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/nrchp.html
Hurricanes: https://www.epa.gov/naturalevents/hurricanes.html
ASPECT: http://epa.gov/region6/6ra/aspect_briefing.htm