NEWBURY PARK : Liquid Found Inside Drain Is Examined
Ventura County officials are testing a dark, oily liquid found in a storm drain in Newbury Park to determine whether it is hazardous.
The substance found in the 1200 block of Rancho Conejo Boulevard appears to contain a mixture of water and oil products, said Terry Gilday, technical services manager of the county’s environmental health division. Results from tests on the sample are expected next week, he said.
A construction crew grading a field behind warehouses and assembly plants on Rancho Conejo Boulevard discovered a pool of murky water while trying to install a storm drain, said Bryan Tapking, a project manager for the Shappell development firm, which is building more than 1,200 residences in the area.
The crew stopped work on the drain while county officials inspected the area.
A county environmental health inspector traced the liquid to a high-pressure air compressor at Republic Fasteners, a company that manufactures parts for the aerospace industry. The company’s building is a few hundred feet from the contaminated soil.
Gilday said the soil contamination did not extend beyond the area near the drain. The material did not enter the Thousand Oaks sewer system.
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