HUNTINGTON BEACH : Oil, Detergent Leak Cleaned Up by Boats
Booms that were towed by several boats swept up 11 gallons of oil and liquid detergent that leaked from an offshore drilling platform Wednesday morning after a pump malfunctioned, city officials said.
One gallon of crude oil and 10 gallons of a soap-type cleaner spilled about 6:15 a.m. from a Shell Oil Co. platform known as Emmy that lies about 1 1/2 miles from shore, north of Golden West Street and Pacific Coast Highway, said Mark Bodenbender, a spokesman for the Huntington Beach Fire Department. He said an alarm malfunctioned and set off a pump, spilling the mess into the ocean.
“We’re investigating what really failed. It could have been the alarm on the pump that turned the pump on. Or it could have been the pump itself,” said Hart Wurner of Shell Oil.
It was the second leak at the same platform in a week, but Shell spokesmen said the two were not related. The first occurred last Thursday and was about the same size, city officials said.
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