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Chemical Spill Closes Beaches At Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

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Published Date

April 12, 2017

West Beach (pictured) was one of three beaches at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore closed due to a nearby chemical spill/NPS file photo

Three beaches at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore have been closed due to a toxic chemical spill, park officials said Wednesday.

The spill, of hexavalent chromium, was from the U.S. Steel plant at Portage, Indiana. An undetermined amount of the chemical, a byproduct of plant processes, spilled into the Burns Waterway on Tuesday. The waterway is 100 yards upstream of Lake Michigan, and the concern at the park is that any chemical that reaches the lake could be pushed ashore by wave action. 

Environmental Protection Agency crews were working with U.S. Steel teams to contain the spill.

According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, the chemical "is known to cause cancer. In addition, it targets the respiratory system, kidneys, liver, skin and eyes."

National lakeshore beaches closed on Wednesday were Cowles Bog Beach, West Beach, and the Portage Lakefront beach, Park Service staff said. While the beach area at Cowles Bog has been closed, the trails in that area remain open to the public, they added.

Closure of the Cowles Bog Beach was made based on a recommendation that all beaches within three miles of the discharge be closed as a precaution to protect the health of park visitors.

The affected national lakeshore beaches and water were to be independently tested and monitored to determine when they are safe to reopen.

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Comments

Submitted by Lee Dalton on April 12, 2017 - 8:34pm.

There they go again!  That bunch of Unelected Bureaucrats trying to mess with Free Enterprise and America's economic wealth.  Sheesh, billions of gallons of water out there in that big Great Lake.  Just wait awhile and all that hexavalent stuff will be so diluted you won't even know it was ever there unless your skin turns green and starts to glow in the dark.  But as long as it's not any of MY kids glowing, what difference does it make? 

Is this another reason to get rid of the EPA as our current leaders have promised to do?

(( Or could this be an illustration of how wrong-headed they are? ))


Submitted by melissa wadsworth on April 13, 2017 - 8:58am.

very sad that this chemical spill happened we need more regulations on these factories to prevent spills... it not only affects humans but the creatures who live in and around the water....


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