Mysterious diesel spill soils Salmon Bay
SEATTLE -- The state Department of Ecology and U.S. Coast Guard are responding to a diesel spill in Seattle's Fishermen's Terminal.
Officials say the slick started in the terminal and has spread north across Salmon Bay. Video from Air 4 showed a sheen floating across a chunk of the waterway.
The spill was likely in the tens of gallons, said Larry Altose with the Department of Ecology. They have yet to identify the spill's source.
While investigating, the Coast Guard found a separate small hydraulic fuel leak coming from a vessel at the terminal.
The owners have hired a contractor to clean up that sheen, and the contractor will assist in cleaning up the diesel spill as well. That contractor is laying absorbent material near the Ballard Mill marina where there is collectable amounts of diesel on the surface.
Altose says the sheen is too thin in most other places and will have to dissipate naturally.
The Department of Ecology says it's unfortunate that "mystery" spills are common and there sources are never found, but they will continue investigating and taking samples from vessels from Fisherman's Terminal to determine if a match source can be identified.
Officials say the slick started in the terminal and has spread north across Salmon Bay. Video from Air 4 showed a sheen floating across a chunk of the waterway.
The spill was likely in the tens of gallons, said Larry Altose with the Department of Ecology. They have yet to identify the spill's source.
While investigating, the Coast Guard found a separate small hydraulic fuel leak coming from a vessel at the terminal.
The owners have hired a contractor to clean up that sheen, and the contractor will assist in cleaning up the diesel spill as well. That contractor is laying absorbent material near the Ballard Mill marina where there is collectable amounts of diesel on the surface.
Altose says the sheen is too thin in most other places and will have to dissipate naturally.
The Department of Ecology says it's unfortunate that "mystery" spills are common and there sources are never found, but they will continue investigating and taking samples from vessels from Fisherman's Terminal to determine if a match source can be identified.