Description
Respond to James:
I live in Savannah Georgia which is near where the cargo ship (The Golden Key) left the Port of Brunswick and overturned off the coast of Georgia near Saint Simons Island. The ship was carrying approximately 4200 cars. In order to remove the ship from the waterways, it had to be dismantled into 8 different sections and underwent fires and numerous oil, gasoline, and diesel leaks. The incident happened in the Saint Simon’s Sound which is feed by many tributaries around the islands. Many factors contributed to the spread of contaminants such as wind, tides, storms (hurricane), currents, moon phases, and boat traffic. The impact of this environmental toxicant affected the water (sea and salt marshes), air, shorelines (beaches), marine traffic, tourism, fishing industry (fish, shrimp, crab), and property values. The ramifications have a direct exposure to oil and fuel contaminants by breathing in contaminated air and direct contact to the skin (beach). Indirect exposure would include swimming in contaminated water streams and contaminated food. This incident will take years to recover and may not know the full extent of the physical and ecological damage to the area and people for years to come.
