600 gallons of oil pour into San Francisco Bay from leak at Chevron refinery
An oil spill at the Chevron Richmond refinery that entered San Francisco Bay was halted late Tuesday afternoon and clean-up operations are ongoing, the energy company said in a statement.
Chevron first noticed the shine on the water near the refinery at 3 p.m., and about 600 gallons of “a mixture of petroleum and water” seeped into the bay before the leak was stopped.
CHEVRON OIL SPILL: State emergency officers say a pipeline containing a mixture of oil and gasoline is leaking 5 gallons per minute into San Francisco Bay. #oilspill https://t.co/B3osX1POEN pic.twitter.com/pkJ5W90dzM
– ABC7 News (@ abc7newsbayarea) February 10, 2021
“We understand that the source no longer flows into the bay, but that there are products in the bay,” Maria Dulazo, a specialist in hazardous materials in Contra Costa County, told KCBS Radio. “They have a containment boom and are working to contain it to minimize the spread of the sheen and petroleum product.”
Contra Costa county director John Gioia wrote on Twitter that the refinery was leaking five gallons of oil per minute and that Chevron employees and local firefighters were on site.
“A full investigation will take place,” Gioia wrote on Facebook. “I spoke to Congregation member Buffy Wicks tonight and she plans to introduce a bill to increase fines and penalties to make deterrence more effective. … This is unacceptable!”
Point Richmond-based Don Mill said he first smelled the spill after Tuesday lunchtime. A friend of Mill painted the outside of his house, which is on the beach just 300 to 400 feet from Long Wharf where the spill occurred, and she told him the smell would make her sick.
“I’ve lived here for a long time, 35 years, and we’ve had some oil spill incidents,” Mill said. “It smelled more toxic. We didn’t smell of gasoline. We had neighbors, the three of us Called hours later and said, ‘Do you smell that?’ “
There is currently a 5 gallon per minute petroleum product leak at Chevron Richmond Long Wharf.
Chevron & Fire Agency on site and about to boom the leak. County HazMat on the route. A Public Health Advisory applies to Richmond, San Pablo and N. Richmond. Pic.twitter.com/6HWKocfgLR
– John Joy (@supejohngioia) February 10, 2021
Booms have been put in place to control the spread of the spill, but the East Bay Regional Park District has had to shut down beaches for safety reasons and “oil washes ashore along the South Richmond coast, which will harm wildlife and marine life,” said Gioia across from the Bay City News operator.
The refinery said it was “fully cooperating with government agencies” including the US Coast Guard and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Spill Prevention and Response.
Chevron’s initial response was “inadequate” and “oil has quickly violated Chevron’s containment boom,” Oakland-based environmental monitoring group San Francisco Baykeeper said in a statement and released photos to support its claims.
The crews of Chevron and the fire department respond to a leak of petroleum products at a rate of 5 gallons per minute in the waters of Point Richmond when an absorbent next to the Chevron Richmond Long Wharf in Richmond, Calif Boom will be installed in 2021.
Ray Chavez / MediaNews Group / The Mercury News via Getty Images
“Chevron’s oil leak today is bad news for the bay – we’re unfortunately still learning the size and impact of the oil spill. The five refineries in the Bay Area have a long history of environmental pollution so they should be aware of this Be prepared for a situation like this, “said Baykeeper Executive Director Sejal Choksi-Chugh, describing the initial containment response as” pathetic “.
“The Baykeeper field researcher was one of the first to come and he saw a small yellow boom near the wharf, with a lot of oil already spread over the boom into the bay and to nearby coasts and beaches” said Choksi-Chugh said.
The cause of the spill was not immediately known.
The Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
The crews of Chevron and the fire department respond to a leak of petroleum products at a rate of 5 gallons per minute in the waters of Point Richmond when an absorbent next to the Chevron Richmond Long Wharf in Richmond, Calif Boom will be installed in 2021.
Ray Chavez / MediaNews Group / The Mercury News via Getty Images
