EPA: No Swimming Until Authorities Clean Up 500-Gallon Spill Into Clinton River

AUBURN HILLS (WWJ/AP) - Authorities are finishing their cleanup efforts after about 500 gallons of a suspected petroleum product spilled into the Clinton River in suburban Detroit and spread for several miles.

The spill was reported Monday afternoon in Auburn Hills. The city says the source was believed to be in nearby Pontiac and the spill traveled through the Oakland County communities and into Rochester Hills, stopping before it reached River Bend Park.

The Environmental Protection Agency is on the scene, coordinating cleanup and investigating the possible source.

"We don't know what kind of fuel or oil it is," said EPA on-scene coordinator Jeff Lippert. "We collected a sample of it - sent it to the lab it's going to be a number of weeks for the finger printing analysis to tell us what it is - the good news is -- that with any type of oil the response is typically the same; it's a light oil so it's on the surface - we were able to collect it corral it with booms, and absorb it with absorbent pads."

Lippert told WWJ on Tuesday that the most of the oily material has been removed. He says booms remain in place to catch any remnant.

The EPA is advising people not to swim in the river until the clean-up is complete.

 
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