Photos - Removal

In March 1995, an underground oil pipeline located in Reston, Virginia (a suburb of Washington, D.C.) ruptured. The high-pressure pipeline, owned by the Colonial Pipeline Company, released over 400,000 gallons of oil to the environment before it could be shut down. One of the largest inland oil spills in recent history, the oil affected nine miles of the nearby Sugarland Run Creek and entered the Potomac River. In this photograph, response personnel are using vacuum pumps and hoses to remove oil from Sugarland Run Creek after deploying boom to contain the oil. In all, response personnel recovered over 90 percent of the spilled oil. Photograph by Ruth A. Lyngard.

View Group # 1 2 3 4 5 6