East LA oil spill has reached Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach
Clean up of the LA River in Long Beach is focused primarily at Willow Street but, after a small breach, another team has been deployed to PCH.
Crews are hard at work up and down the Los Angeles River, including multiple spots in Long Beach, cleaning up after thousands of gallons of crude oil leaked from a ruptured pipeline in East LA Friday.
LA County firefighters responded to a hazmat incident near E. Cesar Chavez and N. Eastern avenues around 3:20 a.m. According to California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Kristina Werner, the spill occurred when a telecommunications company crew installing fiber optic cables drilled too deep and ruptured a 16-inch pipeline 10 feet underground.
It took about 30 minutes for the valve to be shut off, according to multiple reports. Early reporting stated 2,400 gallons of crude oil spilled into the East LA intersection, but Werner said that was just an initial estimate by the first crew at the scene and that the department doesn’t “have an actual figure” at this point.
From the streets, the oil made its way to storm drains and, eventually, the LA River. Now, crews at numerous locations are working on the cleanup effort.
“What we did was attack this aggressively, so there are multiple crews at multiple spots up and down the river,” Werner told the Watchdog in an interview Sunday. “Obviously, our main goal is to keep this to the river.”
The name of the telecommunications company that employed the crew that ruptured the pipeline has not been released, according to Werner.
In Long Beach, the cleanup work is focused primarily at Willow Street where a crew of more than two dozen people are removing oil using special pads that do not absorb water but that the oil sticks to. A smaller cleanup is also taking place at Pacific Coast Highway after a small breach at Willow, according to Werner.
A collection boom also has been deployed at Golden Shore “out of an abundance of caution,” according to Long Beach officials.
CDFW is working closely with the Environmental Protection Agency, LA County Fire Department and the owner of the pipeline, Plains West Coast Pipeline, Werner said.
“We all work together to make sure this can get cleaned up as quickly and safely as possible,” Werner said, adding that the Oiled Wildlife Care Network out of UC Davis was also activated after reports of oiled wildlife along the river.
“The birds have been transported to the Los Angeles Oiled Bird Care & Education Center where additional OWCN responders are providing initial care prior to cleaning,” the network said in a social media post.
The financial burden of the clean up effort falls on Plains West Coast Pipeline, Werner said, noting that the company can then seek legal action against the fiber optics company for the damages.
“Taxpayers, this is not on them,” Werner said.
LA County Public Health on Friday issued guidance for residents near contaminated areas:
- Avoid contact, including keeping children and pets away from contaminated areas;
- If oil gets on your skin, wash it immediately with soap and water, and change out of any contaminated clothing.
- If you smell odors outdoors, close your windows and doors, turn off HVAC systems and stay inside.
Odors may cause or worsen headaches, nausea, eye, nose or throat irritation, dizziness or breathing problems such as asthma, according to county health officials.
“Brief exposures are not expected to cause long term health effects for most people,” the agency wrote. “If symptoms are severe or do not go away, contact your medical provider.”
If you don’t have a medical provider, call the Public Health Community Health Complaint Line at 626-430-9821.
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