The oil made its way into the river following an explosion, fire, and leak that occurred Saturday at the Indian Point nuclear facility in Buchanan, about 40 miles north of Midtown Manhattan.
According to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), oil leaked into the facility's discharge drains during the fire, then into the river.
However, "there is no doubt that oil was discharged into the Hudson River," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at Indian Point on Sunday. "We have booms in the water now around the discharged pipe to collect any oil that may be in the river."
The fire did not cause the release of any radiation and did not pose a threat to workers or the public, according to a statement by Entergy Corp, the owner of the nuclear power plant.
The Journal News cited a state official as saying the oil leak "left a sheen of 75-by-100 feet just south of the two reactors, and is likely expanding."
There is also a "notable odor" in the vicinity of the power plant, according to a boat crew for the watchdog group Riverkeeper, which patrolled the Hudson off Indian Point after the transformer fire.
Riverkeeper also spotted a gap in a containment boom at the power plant, designed to hold back the oil leak. The group notified the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which deployed a second boom.
The group is citing the accident and subsequent contamination as further evidence for the plant’s closure, noting that "fire safety at Indian Point has been an ongoing concern" and that the incident comes only days after a steam leak caused an unplanned shutdown at the plant.
"The history of fire safety at Indian Point is one of mistakes, illegality, and failure by both Entergy and the NRC," said Riverkeeper president Paul Gallay. "The plant should not be operated under its current fire safety regime. The plant is not cheaper, it's not safe, and it’s not necessary. It's time to close Indian Point and move on."
— RocklandFires (@RocklandFires) May 9, 2015
According to the Journal News, US Rep. Nita Lowey of New York said the NRC should not renew Indian Point's license for their reactors, a matter the federal body is currently considering.
"This latest episode proves that Indian Point remains a serious threat to public health and safety," Lowey said in a statement. "We are extremely fortunate that a catastrophic scenario did not unfold, and I urge officials to conduct a swift and thorough investigation."
