Barge Sinking In Delta Waters Near Antioch
KTVU
06/10/2010
ANTIOCH -- A small fuel spill was reported Thursday morning near a partially sunken barge at the Fulton Shipyard.
A sheen was reported on the water near Fulton Shipyard Road at about 9 a.m., said Matt Kaufmann, a Contra Costa County hazardous materials specialist.
A crew of five county workers responded to the area and determined the sheen was coming from the barge, Kaufmann said.
Alexia Retallack of the state Department of Fish and Game's Office of Spill Prevention and Response said the barge began sinking Sunday, and that crews planned to raise it out of the water today.
Retallack said authorities were told by the barge's owner that fuel had been pumped off the vessel. She said the sheen spotted today may be due to other fluids that were in the engine.
Boom has been set up around the barge to ensure that the spill does not spread.
"We don't have a lot of material in the water, but we're not taking any chances," she said.
Crews are working Thursday afternoon to pump water off the barge and it.
