Star-Bulletin Graphic

Workers try to contain an oil spill from a Chevron Industries pipeline today; at least 200 barrels entered Waimanu Stream. Photo by Terry Luke, Star-Bulletin

Dave Young, Chevron Industries spokesman, said the break in the 8-inch pipeline was expected to be repaired by the end of the day. It occurred underground just before the pipeline enters Hawaiian Electric Co.'s Waiau Power Plant.

The 23-mile pipeline connects Heco with Chevron's refinery at Campbell Industrial Park.

He said about 200 barrels or 8,400 gallons of oil spilled before Chevron personnel discovered the leak at 2 a.m.

Today's warm weather was a mixed blessing, Young said. Because the winds were mild, the oil spill was contained to the northeastern corner of East Loch; however, the heat caused an odor problem.

The fuel entered the stream that feeds into Pearl Harbor. Health Department officials were notified at 3:30 a.m. after residents noticed strong odors in the area.

Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Van Leunen, a Pearl Harbor spokesman living in the area, likened the smell to "natural gas."

One Salt Lake resident said she awoke in the middle of the night to the smell of oil from the spill.

Bruce Anderson, the state Health Department's deputy director for environmental health, said there appeared to be no immediate significant threat to public health.

But he said a national wildlife refuge in the area may be threatened. The marshy area adjacent to the Waiau Power Plant and downstream of the spill appeared to be the most heavily affected. Ford Island and areas around it also were affected.

"Our strategy is to try to contain the oil as much as possible and protect the sensitive ecosystems in the area, including a federal wildlife sanctuary in Middle Loch and other areas of West Loch," Anderson said.

The areas threatened are major nesting areas for Hawaiian stilts and other endangered species, Anderson said.

Boom docks to prevent the oil from spreading further were set up by the Navy and the Coast Guard around Ford Island and the Arizona Memorial, March said.

By sunrise, crews also had barricaded waters around the power plant, protecting it from creeping oil.

Young said Chevron's computer leak-detection system in the pipeline helped the oil company "catch the problem early on ... but it took a while to walk the line to find where the break occurred."

The cleanup effort involved the Clean Islands Council, an oil-industry organization set up to respond to spills; the Navy; the Coast Guard; and the state Health Department.

Seven Navy skimmers were cleaning up the oil; nine response boats were also at the scene.

"We have a tremendous response mounted," Young said.

Hawaiian Electric said the oil spill would not affect the operations of the power plant.

Police closed a bike path near the plant from Lehua Avenue to Blaisdell Park to allow cleanup vehicles to reach the spill site.

A Pearl Harbor spokesman said the oil spill had almost no impact on military operations there.