Oil sheen off Treasure Island contained
Bay City News
August 17, 2009
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SAN FRANCISCO — An oil sheen off Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay has been contained, but clean-up crews expect it will take a few more days to absorb all of the oil.
A pedestrian reported the sheen at about noon Monday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The caller said the U.S.S. Wenonah, a decommissioned naval tug moored to the east side of the island, was sitting low in the water, and that an oil sheen and debris could be seen in the water nearby.
The Coast Guard contracted a private company to clean up the sheen, which Coast Guard Lt. jg Jeremy Pichette said reached the Berkeley Marina by about 3:30 p.m.
Tim Parker, founder and president of Parker Diving and Salvation, the company contracted to clean up the sheen, said he estimated 25 gallons of diesel and five to 10 gallons of lube oil were spilled.
He said the oil has been contained in about 500 feet of containment boom, and now 450 feet of absorbent boom are being used to clean
up the leak.
Parker said his company gets calls to clean up pollution caused by sunken vessels two or three times per month, and the current sheen is a medium-sized job.
He said there's not anything complicated or unique about its cleanup.
"It's pretty straight-forward," Parker said from the site of the spill. "There might be some leakage for the next couple of days, but it will
probably work its way out. We will monitor it a couple of times per day."
The Coast Guard provided the initial cleanup materials for the sheen, including absorbent boom, and dispatched an 87-foot patrol boat, a
41-foot utility boat and a helicopter.
The Wenonah was taken out of commission in 1974 after being used by the U.S. Navy as a harbor tug for 33 years.
