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Molasses spill disaster

ap542466387724By Dina Spector From Business Insider

A massive molasses spill is killing everything in its path — and nothing can be done to clean up the mess

In this attached photo an environmental cleanup crew scoops a dead eel out of Keehi Lagoon after a massive molasses spill from a Matson cargo ship in Honolulu, Hawaii, Sept. 12th, 2013.

A giant molasses spill in Honolulu on Monday leaked 233,000 gallons of the sticky stuff into the harbour.

rtx13j7gThe spill is being called the worst environmental disaster in Hawaii’s history. The cracked pipe that caused the leak was repaired on Tuesday, but the spill has already killed thousands of fish and officials are warning swimmers and surfers to stay out of the water since it could attract sharks.

“Everything is dead. They’re all dead and they’re all just lying across the bottom — hundreds and hundreds, thousands,” a diver told NBC affiliate KHNL.

The worst part is that nothing can be done to clean up the mess.

molassesMolasses is heavier than water, so unlike oil, it sinks to the bottom of the seafloor.

“Unlike with an oil spill, it’s a sugar product so it will dissipate on its own,” a spokesman for the shipping company that maintains the molasses pipeline told NBC News. “There’s not an active cleanup.”

Various kinds of dead marine life can seen in one of the attached photos showing a barrel collected by employees from the PENCO Pacific Environmental Corporation at a dock in Keehi Lagoon in Honolulu.

rtx13j62Health officials have warned swimmers, surfers, and snorkelers in Hawaii to stay out of the waters near Honolulu.

A dead fish washed ashore is seen in Keehi Lagoon. Thousands of fish have been killed. (See attached photo)

PHOTOS: REUTERS/Hugh Gentry and AP Eugene Tanner

 

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