Accident Sends Oil Gushing Into Streets

Several blocks in Harbor City were cordoned off Wednesday afternoon while workers cleaned up 8,400 gallons of crude oil that escaped from a Mobil Oil Corp. well.

The oil spilled into the streets and gutters late Wednesday morning when Mobil workers attempted to replace a subsurface pump on a well near Oakhorne Drive and Batey Avenue, Mobil officials said.

Los Angeles fire officials said there were no injuries.

One resident of the middle-class residential neighborhood said the oil sprayed about 150 feet into the air and then surged out to the streets.

“I was driving down the street here and I just saw this river of black,” said Jeff Booth, a construction worker who lives near the well.

Mobil spokesman Mike Kimmitt said about 420 gallons of oil escaped into the city’s storm drain system but was blocked before it could be released into Los Angeles Harbor.

Mobil trucks equipped with large vacuum tubes collected much of the oil by late Wednesday afternoon. Kimmitt said it would take at least another 24 hours to steam clean the remaining residue from the streets and gutters.

The well is part of Mobil’s Joughin Unit, which includes a tank farm. Kimmitt said the accident is the first spill from that unit.

Several residents complained when they were not allowed to drive on the streets until workers removed the oil. Others said they were bothered by the oil fumes.

“You breathe in and you can taste it,” said Angela Janulewicz, who lives on Toomey Place about a block from the well.

Corrina Utley, another Toomey Place resident, complained: “I’m getting a headache.”