Unocal Pipeline Ruptures

A mixture of oil and saltwater oozed onto Albertoni Street in Carson on Monday after the rupture of a Unocal oil company pipeline.

A Los Angeles County fire official said about five barrels of oily liquid was released onto the road in the spill, which affected the south side of Albertoni just east of its intersection with Avalon Boulevard.

City workers used sand to prevent the liquid from getting into storm drains, and a specially equipped truck was hired to vacuum it from the roadway, said County Fire Capt. Steve Dahlmeir. Unocal will pay the cleanup costs, which are estimated at $9,000, he said.

It is unclear whether the oily mixture removed Monday was the entire spill because the pipe, a two-inch-diameter line linking a Unocal well to a collection station, is buried beside the roadway.

Unocal spokesman Art Bentley downplayed the risk of any underground contamination, saying the pipeline’s liquid is composed mainly of water and would leave little more than “minor stains.”

“I don’t think there would be much in the ground, if any,” Bentley said Tuesday. He added that Unocal is unsure what caused the rupture, saying: “We’re going to start digging and find out.”