SEAL BEACH : Area Cordoned Off Due to Sewer Vapors

Mysteriously high levels of explosive vapors in underground sewers forced authorities Tuesday to cordon off a quarter-mile section of Seal Beach. Residents were only allowed in on foot because of fear that car motors would ignite the vapors.

Kathleen Cha, County Fire Department spokeswoman, said no one was injured in the incident and there were no evacuations.

Cha said the vapors were discovered about 10:50 a.m. by county sanitation workers performing a routine sewer gas inspection.

“They got some readings as high as 80% of the limit for a low-level explosion,” Cha said. “They stopped everything and called for assistance.”

Hazardous material teams from Newport Beach and Huntington Beach were brought in, as well as county health officials. Samples of the gas were taken as part of the investigation into the source of the problem, but no results were available late Tuesday.

“We still don’t have a cause,” Cha said.

Residents in the neighborhood said they suspect an Exxon refining facility next to the city’s Marina Community Center. But Cha and county health officials said it was too early to point a finger at anyone.

Exxon halted operations at the facility pending the outcome of the investigation, Cha said.

Meanwhile, about 5,000 gallons of water was being pumped into the sewer system from a hydrant at 1st Street and Wood Lane in an effort to flush out the vapors.

The incident came only a week before neighborhood residents are scheduled to speak at a City Council meeting in opposition to plans by Unocal to expand a long-dormant site next to the Exxon facility.

“There’s simply no place for something like this in a residential area,” said John O’Neill, who lives in the area cordoned off Tuesday and is a member of the Keep Seal Beach Safe organization.

Exxon officials couldn’t be reached for comment.