[CPEO-MEF] FUEL: "Switch in wrong position caused Oceana [VA] jet-fuel spill, Navy says"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Switch in wrong position caused Oceana jet-fuel spill, Navy says

by Courtney Mateus 
Virginian-Pilot
May19, 2017

VIRGINIA BEACH - An incorrectly positioned switch that routed jet fuel into a too-small tank that overflowed for hours appears to be the cause of a spill last week at Naval Air Station Oceana that contaminated a nearby creek and chased residents from their homes, Navy Rear Adm. Jack Scorby said Friday. 

Scorby, commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, said how the switch was left in the wrong position instead of directing the fuel into three 880,000-gallon tanks remained under investigation. Twenty active-duty and civilian personnel have been added to stand watch and handle quality control around the clock at the fuel farm where the spill occurred following a safety stand down, he said.

About 94,000 gallons of jet fuel – the equivalent of a little more than 1,700 55-gallon drums – spilled during a routine refueling at Oceana during the evening of May 10. It  is believed to be the largest ever at Oceana, the Navy's master East Coast jet base.


…

For the entire article, see
http://pilotonline.com/news/local/environment/switch-left-in-wrong-position-caused-oceana-jet-fuel-spill/article_dbfa602d-7d8a-5fb5-9984-1a54a1499e20.html

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650/961-8918 
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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