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The US Coast Guard issued an update on Thursday afternoon after dive operations and vehicle recovery efforts were temporarily paused due to the hazardous conditions caused by the wreckage and debris.
According to the Baltimore County Police Department, the agency remains on the water to help secure the area around the collapse site, where there were 56 containers of hazardous materials onboard the Dali.
Officials said that those containers housed an estimated 764 tons of hazardous materials - most of which are corrosives, flammable and Class 9 hazardous materials.
In response, a 2000-yard Safety Zone for recovery efforts has been established "for the protection of personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from the potential hazards associated with salvage work."
First responders were still assessing and monitoring the situation as of Thursday, March 28, days after the collapse, and they have deployed sorbent boom in the area.
"The Unified Command is addressing environmental concerns with response teams conducting visual inspections of water quality and collecting samples for testing," officials said.
"First responders have observed a sheen around the vessels. There are 56 total containers loaded on the vessel that contained hazardous materials.
"Thirteen were impacted. The 13 that were impacted were assessed by an industrial hygienist for potential hazards."
Pollution and debris removal operations are on-going as of Thursday night, though no atmospheric hazards were detected.
"The chemical components assessed were soap products, perfume products, or not otherwise specified resin," investigators noted. "We have been conducting air monitoring on the vessel and around the vessel with our contractor.
"No volatile organic compounds or flammable vapors were observed. We are continuing to air monitor throughout the incident. At this time, no atmospheric hazards have been detected."
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