Employee Left Valve Open in Harbor Oil Spill, Mobil Says

Human error, not a faulty valve, was responsible for the spill of thousands of gallons of crude oil from a Mobil Oil Corp. dock into Los Angeles Harbor last weekend, a company official said Tuesday.

Mobil spokesman Jim Carbonetti said the company determined after an investigation that a two-inch drain valve was inadvertently left open by an employee while pipes at the Terminal Island dock were being flushed with the crude oil. The company had earlier believed the valve had malfunctioned.

Carbonetti also said that Mobil had determined that 450 barrels, or 18,900 gallons, of oil seeped into the harbor before the open valve was discovered at daybreak Saturday. The valve was left open sometime after midnight, he said.

In early statements, the company had only said that more than 12,000 gallons had escaped.

Two private firms hired by Mobil continued cleaning up the spill on Tuesday. Mobil has already spent $300,000 for the cleanup, which is expected to continue into next week, Carbonetti said. Mobil also faces a possible $5,000 federal fine, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

Mobil has stationed personnel at four yacht clubs in the harbor to handle damage complaints from boat owners. While an exact number was not available Tuesday, Carbonetti said Mobil had received “hundreds” of claims from boaters asking the company to pay for cleaning the oil off the hulls of their vessels.

Coast Guard and port officials earlier reported that the spill reached Cabrillo Beach and stained rocks and jetties, but the oil was not believed to have endangered marine life or birds.

Port spokesman Mike Levitt said Tuesday, however, that oil was spotted in a kelp bed alongside the harbor’s main breakwater, and divers will inspect the bed within two weeks to determine whether the area was damaged.