About 3 p.m. Monday, a communications watchstander at Coast Guard Station Michigan City, Ind., was notified of an unknown film in the water near Porter Beach, Ind. The station directed the reporting source to contact the National Response Center.
Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago dispatched a response boat to the area, and pollution investigators found no visible film.
A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Mich., was diverted from a training mission to conduct an overflight of the area from the Port of Indiana to Michigan City, Ind., and found no evidence of film. They did see a few pollen blooms.
The U.S. Geological Survey has taken water samples, and the results are pending.
Just after 4 p.m., Station Michigan City received a report that the film had reached Michigan City.
"At this point, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management is conducting a more thorough analysis of samples taken to determine what the actual materials are," said Petty Officer 1st Class Jeremy Thomas, a pollution investigator at MSU Chicago. "Preliminary results indicate it was not petroleum-based material, and an investigation is being conducted to determine the source."
Personnel from MSU Chicago is currently investigating, and they have found no sign of the film. Coast Guard investigators have reviewed a weeks worth of video from the Port of Indiana and have ruled out the port as a possible source. They have also ruled out the steel company ArcelorMittal as a source. The cause of the film remains under investigation, and the Coast Guard is working diligently alongside partner agencies, such as the USGS and IDEM, to determine any causative factors to see if there is anything that can be done to prevent similar occurrences.
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