Officials respond to big fuel spill on remote Alaska island
By APWednesday, January 13, 2010
Big fuel spill on Alaska island
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An estimated 142,800 gallons (540,500 liters) of diesel fuel spilled from a storage tank on an island in Alaska’s remote Aleutian chain.
The Coast Guard says 1,000 gallons (3,785 liters) from the Monday spill on Adak Island entered a creek and flowed into a small boat harbor.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation says the fuel flowed from an underground storage tank as a ship moored at a pier pumped fuel to the tank.
The flow reached a drainage system that collects water from around the underground tanks and sends it into the creek. The amount overwhelmed the system’s oil and water separator.
The fuel tank is owned by Adak Petroleum. Workers discovered the spill, halted pumping and set up boom to contain the fuel.
Adak Island is 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
