Booms have been placed in Johns Creek in Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park on Lake Washington to catch any cooking oil that leaked from a container damaged by a garbage truck last Friday at The Landing.
It’s not yet known how much of the cooking oil in the 140-gallon container at the Panda Express may have reached the creek. The container itself likely held at least 70 gallons of cooking oil, according to the state Department of Ecology.
Crews with a cleanup company were monitoring the creek Tuesday to replace any booms that were saturated with the cooking oil. A light oily sheen covered the creek where it passes under a park bridge.
Cooking oil is of low toxicity but can stick to fish or birds that come in contact with it, according to the ecology department. It also can reduce oxygen levels in the water. Early indications were there was no adverse effect on fish or wildlife.
“All oil is damaging to the enviroment,” said Larry Altose, a spokesman for the state Department of Ecology, which responded to the spill last Friday.
Cooking oil also is harmful to drainage and sewer systems, which is why it’s held in containers, rather than flushed down a drain, Altose said. Renton, like other cities, enforce regulations regarding disposal of fats, oils and grease.
The City of Renton Public Works Department also responded to the spill Friday. The city installed a boom at the outfall where the drainage system empties into Johns Creek to help control the cooking oil.
A Waste Management truck caused the spill when it knocked over the waste-oil container at about 5:15 a.m. Friday behind the Panda Express restaurant at The Landing, according to the ecology department.
The driver replaced the container and placed absorbent pads around the area, as required by company policy, according to the ecology department.
The spill wasn’t reported to the ecology department until about 3 p.m. after it was discovered the cooking oil was leaking from the container.
Katie Salinas, a Waste Management spokesperson, said Tuesday the driver thought he had taken care of the problem with the absorbent material he had on board his truck.
The ecology department worked with a contractor paid for by Waste Management to vacuum up as much of the spill as possible before it flowed into storm drains which empty in Johns Creek.
The company will continue to monitor the creek; the booms will likely remain in place for several days, Altose said. It’s likely the oily sheen will remain visible, too.
