Oil Sheens Found in San Pablo Bay Near Refinery: Coast Guard

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CA — U.S. Coast Guard officials said two oil sheens were discovered Wednesday near the Phillips 66 Refinery in Rodeo and in northern San Pablo Bay.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station San Francisco Wednesday morning discovered a sheen just over a mile long and 40 yards wide in northern San Pablo Bay, and the Coast Guard and California Office of Spill Prevention and Response's pollution investigators aboard a small boat took samples to determine the source.

A second sheen was identified Wednesday afternoon during a Coast Guard flight near the Phillips 66 Refinery's Marine Terminal in Rodeo, according to the Coast Guard.

Several vessels and skimmers conducted containment and cleanup operations, and 1,000 feet of boom was placed in the water surrounding the refinery, Coast Guard officials said.

No oiled wildlife had been observed as of this afternoon, and Coast Guard pollution investigators have not determined the source of either sheen.

The Phillips 66 energy company confirmed a light oily sheen was discovered at the Marine Terminal in Rodeo Wednesday morning.

A tanker was berthed at the marine terminal at the time and operations were temporarily shut down, said company spokesman Dennis Nuss.

"The exact volume of the material released is still being determined, and the cause of the incident is under investigation," Nuss said in an email.

Neither Phillips 66 officials nor the Coast Guard said the oil sheens are suspected of causing a mysterious odor that sickened many Vallejo residents Tuesday night.

Vallejo city spokeswoman Joanna Altman said the city received more than 800 calls by 10 p.m. Tuesday about the odor and residents going to a hospital.

A shelter-in-place was issued in Vallejo on Tuesday but was lifted around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Nuss said no injuries associated with the spill have been reported and there is no anticipated health impact to the community.

An urgent marine information broadcast is being issued to local mariners, who are urged to call the Coast Guard San Francisco Command Center at 415-399-7300 to report any oil sheen or other pollution.

— By Bay City News Service

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