The Nation - News from March 20, 1988

Crews worked to clean up 3,360 gallons of Alaskan crude oil that leaked into the waters of Padilla Bay near Anacortes, Wash., and threatened up to 100,000 birds migrating through the wildlife sanctuary, according to Ats Kiuchi of the state Ecology Department. The accident occurred during the unloading of the tanker Overseas Boston at a Shell Oil refinery. The spill was reportedly caused by an oil refinery worker who accidentally turned a wrong valve. It was the second significant oil spill in the area in less than two months. On Jan. 31, a barge filled with heavy bunker oil capsized and sank in Rosario Strait, four miles west of Anacortes, and leaked 77,000 gallons of oil.