1,000 gallons of dielectric fluid leaked into Bronx River, Con Edison says
NEW YORK -- A major cleanup is underway in the Bronx River after 1,000 gallons of oil was accidently spilled into the water.
Bronx resident Bruce Roudette says the river is usually serene.
"It's a nice place to walk around. When you get to my age, ain't too much you can do," he said.
But it's now a turnoff as oil booms outline a section of the river.
"It's like a biohazard. I wouldn't go down and smell that stuff," Roudette said.
You can't blame him as the cleanup of fluid, similar to mineral oil, is underway. That's after, Con Edison confirms, the substance accidently leaked into the water earlier this week, impacting those living nearby, like Michael Trent.
"The smell is atrocious. I just keep my windows closed," Trent said.
Con Edison says about 1,000 gallons of dielectric fluid -- a non-hazardous insulating fluid -- spilled into a storm drain at Nereid Avenue from a Con Edison transmission feeder in Yonkers on April 1.
Cleanup crews have seven booms spread across the river from McLean Avenue in Yonkers down to Fordham Road in the Bronx to absorb the substance and prevent it from traveling farther south.
"It's terrible. Especially for a lot of the seniors and the elderly that visit the park, that look at the water. There is a lot of wildlife in the water and stuff. It's horrible," Trent said.
While there aren't any health or environmental concerns so far, Con Edison cleanup crews are working in Yonkers to bind any fluid before it reaches the booms.
For neighbors like Roudette, who once fished in the river, it's a temporary stop until the work is done.
"That stuff seeps all into the shore and everything. Won't nobody be down there fishing. The only thing that's going to be left is the eels," he said.
Officials say the cleanup is expected to take another four days, but the impact from last Wednesday's storm may extend the work.