Massive scrap metal fire on barge in Delaware Bay spews smoke throughout Philadelphia region

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The Coast Guard is leading the response to a massive blaze on a barge in the Delaware Bay that had been anchored near the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Aerial footage shows giant piles of scrap metal burning and sending black smoke billowing into the atmosphere. As of Tuesday afternoon, the vessel was on its way to the New Jersey side of the Bay, according to a spokesman for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class Matthew West said there are no reported injuries as a towboat was transporting the barge, which did not have an onboard crew. The Coast Guard said it was notified at 8:20 a.m. of the incident. West said it’s hard to predict when the fire will be contained.

If a large volume of black smoke shifts toward residential areas or near places where people are at work or gathering outside, they should stay indoors, said Dr. Marilyn Howarth, community engagement director for the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology at the University of Pennsylvania.

“The black smoke suggests that there’s also a lot of particulate in it,” Howarth said. “Particulates can [impact people with] heart disease and can be a trigger for asthma as well as heart attacks.”

Howarth advises closing windows and turning off ventilation systems until the smoke clears.

The fire could also be emitting small particles of toxic metals, said Jane Clougherty, a professor of environmental and occupational health at Drexel University. “And remember that because this is scrap metal, it’s from an earlier era, potentially, when a lot of lead was used, both in metals and in the paints on those metals,” Clougherty said.

She said there could also be scrap wood mixed in, which could have been treated with arsenic.

“I think this is likely to be a very complicated and a very toxic mix that’s being emitted,” Clougherty said.

It’s also possible that the burning scrap metal could include petroleum products and toxic chemicals, according to Howarth. While short exposures to carcinogens have a very low risk of developing cancer, Howarth said, “we always try to avoid exposure to carcinogens.”

A spokesman for Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health said in an email that its air monitors did not record hazardous conditions.

“All monitors stayed in Yellow for the duration,” wrote Health Department spokesman James Garrow. “Because of this, the Health Department did not issue any warnings to the public.”

Garrow added that residents can check local air quality on the Breathe Philly website.

Multiple agencies are responding to the fire, including the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, Wilmington Fire Department, Good Will Fire Company, Leipsic Volunteer Fire Company, Bowers Fire Company, South Bowers Fire Company, Delaware State Police, Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Control, and the New Castle County Office of Emergency Management, Kent County Department of Public Safety and The Philadelphia Fire Department.