UC Berkeley Fuel Spill Reaches Bay
BERKELEY (CBS SF) -- Around 1,700 gallons of diesel fuel spilled from a tank in a University of California at Berkeley building Saturday evening, causing a spill that reached Strawberry Creek and San Francisco Bay.
The spill was discovered around 7 p.m. Saturday, when a campus police officer noticed an odor coming from Strawberry Creek, which runs through the campus, university officials said.
An investigation determined that diesel fuel tank at Stanley Hall, a large research and classroom building. The fuel, used to power an emergency generator for the building, had overflowed as it was being transferred to another storage tank.
Emergency crews shut off the source of the leak and removed hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel from the building. The leak was contained by around 9 p.m. but crews Sunday continued to lay down absorbent materials and vacuum up the fuel, officials said.
Federal and state officials have been notified, and the area is being closely monitored for impacts on wildlife, said Mark Freiberg, director of the Office of Environment, Health and Safety.
Stanley Hall remains closed, but should be open Monday. The cause of the leak remains under investigation.
Members of the public who encounter pooled fuel from the spill, they are asked to avoid touching it, but to report it to (510) 664-4406.
(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed)
