Oil spill in Boston’s Muddy River leaves animals covered with oil
By Samantha Chaney
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BOSTON, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Animals were left covered in oil in Boston and Brookline Sunday evening after a spill in Boston’s Muddy River.
Birds covered in oil
Brookline residents said they spotted birds covered in what smelled like mechanical oil near the Longwood T Station Sunday afternoon.
“We were alerted that several birds – waterfowl, ducks, geese, etc., were potentially exposed to the oils,” said Dr. Priya Patel, the wildlife medical director of New England Wildlife Centers. “We are down here to capture as many as we can. Any ones that we collect we’ll bring back to our hospital.”
Patel said as birds get covered in oil, it interrupts their waterproofing and they become cold and even hypothermic.
“Getting these animals into care as fast as we can is going to be what is the difference between them surviving and not,” said Patel.
Wildlife rescue helping
It’s unclear how many animals were affected but a local wildlife rescue group is on the scene to help.
“We’re just standing by in case they need extra hands but we have looked at the birds and definitely some of them worse than others,” said Jane Newhouse, the founder of Newhouse Wildlife Rescue. “There seems to be a sheen all over the water here and there’s a very strong smell when you get close to the water and some of the birds are just covered. So we’re very concerned about them.”
It’s unclear where exactly the oil spill came from. The Massachusetts Environmental Police said it seems to have come from upstream, then flowed into the Muddy River and Leverett Pond.
“There’s a lot of ducks that just need scooping up and picking up and transporting,” Brookline resident Alice Colegrove said.
Brookline and Boston firefighters are using containment booms around the river to stop the oil from spreading.
According to Patel, the search, and rescue effort along the Muddy River will continue into Monday. The cause of the oil spill has yet to be determined.
Volunteers asked not to participate
Police in Brookline said community members expressed interest in helping, but have been asked not to for safety reasons.
“We know that members of the community are concerned for the well being of the impacted wildlife and were interested in what they could do to help,” Brookline police said on social media. “On scene for something like this it’s important that we only use people with proper PPE and training. For that reason, volunteers were not able to participate.”
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