OAKRIDGE, Ore. (AP) — Oregon environmental officials say there’s no health risk to people or animals as cleanup continues after a fuel spill of more than 5,000 gallons along Highway 58 west of Oakridge.
A tanker truck and trailer hauling fuel for Cascade Petroleum Transportation crashed March 12, with the trailer spilling more than 3,000 gallons of gasoline and more than 2,000 gallons of diesel into a ditch. The truck’s contents did not spill.
Twenty-four nearby homes were briefly evacuated.
A company spokesman tells The Register-Guard the cost of the cleanup could exceed $1 million.
Department of Environmental Quality project manager Bryn Thoms says more than 3,000 gallons of fuel have been recovered and about 1,500 cubic yards of soil have been removed.
The crash site is near a creek and pond area that flows into the Middle Fork Willamette River. Thoms says water monitoring shows small amounts of petroleum compounds, but at levels that don’t pose a health threat.
