[1] The explosion caused 30 million US gallons (110,000 m3) of petroleum to be released into bodies of water and neighboring wetlands of the San Juan Bay, resulting in dead wildlife and a major health impact to the population.

[2] Environmental assessments conducted by the EPA, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources (PR DNR) found dead wildlife and both aquatic and avian species, including several legally protected species, covered in oil.

Puerto Rico Police Department closed the De Diego Expressway due to the danger of the situation and a helicopter was patrolling the area.

In less than one hour, firefighters from San Juan, Bayamón, Cataño, Toa Baja, Guaynabo, Carolina and Trujillo Alto responded to the urgent call.

Also, San Juan, Carolina and Bayamón city fire departments and the Luis Muñoz Marín Airport Crash and Rescue responded to the call.

Due to the smoke cloud, authorities evacuated several communities downwind from it, as well as 80 people living in a secure facility for Justice Department witnesses.

[12] The morning after the explosion, police started investigating a graffiti found near the Minillas Tunnel in San Juan with the message: "Boom, fire, RIP, Gulf.

[13] On October 30, 2009, the director of the FBI in Puerto Rico, Luis Fraticelli, said that more than 240 investigators analyzed the explosion and did not find evidence it was intentional.

[14] The next month, officials from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board announced that a malfunctioning tank fuel gauge led to the explosion.

[19] The day after the explosion, a lawsuit was filed in the Federal District Court of San Juan against Caribbean Petroleum Corporation and MAPFRE Insurance Company.

The filing came after the company failed to comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency orders to clean the site of the explosion.