An investigation is underway into a possible oil leak from the Phillips 66 refinery or from a tanker docked at the refinery’s Marine Terminal in California’s San Pablo Bay near San Francisco.
The U.S. Coast Guard first located an oil sheen on Wednesday and Phillips 66 officials issued a statement.
“At the time, a tanker was berthed at the marine terminal. Our internal response team immediately responded to the incident and we notified the National Response center and the United States Coast Guard.”
The company said operations at the marine terminal were shut down.
“The exact volume of material released is still being determined and the cause of the incident is under investigation. At this time, there have been no injuries associated with the release and there is no anticipated health impact to the community,” stated Phillips 66.
But some officials wonder if the oil sheen was connected to an odor that hospitalized dozens of people Tuesday night in Vallejo.
One oil sheen was estimated to be a mile long and about 40 yards wide. But a second was discovered by the crew of a Coast Guard helicopter, prompting cleanup crews to place 1,000 feet of boom on the water surrounding the refinery.
