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AP Exclusive: Evidence of spills during floods at toxic site

A gate at the U.S. Oil Recovery Superfund site is shown Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Pasadena, Texas, where three tanks once used to store toxic waste were flooded during Hurricane Harvey. The Environmental Protection Agency says it has found no evidence that toxins washed off the site, but is still assessing damage. (AP Photo)
A gate at the U.S. Oil Recovery Superfund site is shown Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Pasadena, Texas, where three tanks once used to store toxic waste were flooded during Hurricane Harvey. The Environmental Protection Agency says it has found no evidence that toxins washed off the site, but is still assessing damage. (AP Photo) A gate at the U.S. Oil Recovery Superfund site is shown Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Pasadena, Texas, where three tanks once used to store toxic waste were flooded during Hurricane Harvey. The Environmental Protection Agency says it has found no evidence that toxins washed off the site, but is still assessing damage. (AP Photo)

By Associated Press 1 min read

PASADENA, Texas (AP) – A U.S. government hotline received three reports of spills at a heavily polluted Superfund toxic waste site near Houston after flooding from Hurricane Harvey.

Flooding swamped three large tanks on Aug. 29 at U.S. Oil Recovery, a former waste processing plant contaminated with a dangerous brew of cancer-causing chemicals. The company overseeing the cleanup says it doesn’t know the total amount spilled into nearby Vince Bayou.

Aerial photographs taken two days later show dark-colored floodwaters surrounding the site.

The Environmental Protection Agency said last week its staff found no evidence that material had washed off the site, dismissing questions about whether there had been a spill into the bayou as a rumor.

The EPA has not explained the disparity between the spill reports, the photographs and its public assurances.