Reddington comments on being attacked by a bull shark while visiting the Great Barrier Reef and ending up on Bramble Cay - an island that's disappearing due to climate change. Not only is Bramble Cay a real island, it's the northernmost point of Australia and the location of the now extinct Bramble Cay Melomys - a rodent that was endemic only to this island and was wiped out due to rising sea levels reducing its food supply. This is considered the first ever mammal made extinct due to direct human influence on the environment.
This is the first of four appearances of Leon Rippy as Hunter. Rippy and Spader previously starred together in Stargate (1994).
The Fullerton Chemical Plant referenced is not in Garrison Kentucky, in fact, there are no chemical plants in Garrison Kentucky at all. However, in 2014 the only known MCHM spill ever recorded was in West Virginia at the Freedom Industries facility on the Elk River Tributary which connects to the Kanawha River. 300,000 people spanning across 9 counties were effected from this incident.