Campus news

Cleanup effort removes 890 gallons of fuel after Dec. 10 spill

By Public Affairs

Federal, state and campus emergency officials report that of the 1,650 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled into Stanley Hall on Saturday evening, approximately 890 gallons have been removed from the building and environment during cleanup efforts as of Friday (Dec. 16).

The 890 gallons include fuel removed with vacuum trucks and absorbent pads and booms from Strawberry Creek and its outfall at San Francisco Bay.

A multi-agency crew that includes the U.S. Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Game and local public works officials continues to assess the creek and the bay, to evaluate how ongoing clean-up efforts are progressing.

Based on what the group observes, it will determine what additional plans need to be developed as part of the cleanup effort. No impacts on wildlife have been reported.

Stanley Hall, a large research and classroom building that closed following the spill, reopened Monday to students. Final exams are underway, and the building’s air quality has been confirmed as safe.

At 7 p.m. Saturday, a campus police officer noticed an off odor coming from Strawberry Creek, and employees from the campus’s Office of Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) and Physical Plant-Campus Services investigated. They discovered that a diesel fuel tank in Stanley Hall had overflowed as fuel was being transferred from a larger nearby storage tank. The fuel in the tank is used to power an emergency generator for the building.

The leak was contained at about 9 p.m. Saturday. Campus crews shut off the source of the leak and immediately contacted federal, state, local and city authorities.

If members of the public see fuel that may be pooling as a result of the spill, they are asked to avoid touching it, but should report it to (510) 664-4406.