Diesel Fuel Spilled on National Mall During 250th Event Setup

[RandySF]

Diesel fuel has spilled onto the National Mall at least twice in the past two weeks during preparations for an event celebrating the country’s 250th birthday, according to a government document and a spokeswoman for the Interior Department.

The first spill occurred on May 20 and contaminated a cistern that provides water for irrigating the grass on the Mall in the heart of Washington, according to the document and the spokeswoman. The second incident happened Wednesday night, and its environmental impact remains unclear.

The total amount of diesel released on the Mall is not certain. The federal government said the first spill involved 30 gallons of fuel, while the nonprofit organizing the event said it was between 2 gallons and 2.5 gallons. Neither party said how much fuel leaked in the second incident.

In both cases, the fuel came from supply lines connected to diesel-powered lighting systems installed for the Great American State Fair, a 16-day event that is set to kick off on June 25 and transform the Mall into a sprawling festival ground.




https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/climate/diesel-fuel-spill-national-mall.html

[hedda_foil]

1. And here's the kicker!

Event Strategies Inc., a Virginia-based firm with close ties to the Trump administration, was overseeing the installation of the lighting systems. The same firm helped organize a rally at the White House Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021, where President Trump addressed a crowd about the 2020 election before some of his supporters stormed the Capitol.

[tanyev]

2. Umm...are there going to be fireworks at this shindig??

😳

[Blues Heron]

3. Diesel lighting - so perfect for America c.2026

[rampartd]

4. did they run out of coal?

[Blues Heron]

5. Seriously!

[Manatee]

7. They are used

all over the country every single day.

[Blues Heron]

8. Ever stand down wind of one of those stinkers? gross.

They have electrical service in DC by the way, its not some backwater

[Manatee]

10. and very

loud!

I'm sure there is some power somewhere nearby, but it's not portable power. These are obviously portable.

[Melon]

6. The difference between 30 gll and 2.5 gll is substantial

So did that they are out with that large of a discrepancy. 30 gallons on a surface area and in a small pond would look like a devastating large amount. A stream of diesel versus 2 gallons.


At today’s diesel prices they just destroyed their budget!

[DenaliDemocrat]

9. For fucks sake

Diesel doesn’t really burn. At least not unless it’s under compression and sprayed into fine particles. It’s why diesel engines are high compression. Go stick a match in a gallon of diesel and watch what happens (hint: nothing- the match goes out).

30 gallons of diesel fuel spilled is not a huge deal. It’s an aliphatic not aromatic hydrocarbon. It also has a long carbon chain - typically 12 to 24 carbon molecules.

Come on. We are supposed to be the educated ones.

[purr-rat beauty]

12. Trump DC Superfund Site

Still no word on the toxic remnants from the East Wing demolition, asbestos and heavy metals doen't disappear

I hope trump, his merry band of assholes, and the fucks abiding with the demolition and such earn their keep from karma