Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

700 gallons of used oil found in Otay Mesa

On the way to recycling plant?

Four million people re-use motor oil as a lubricant for other equipment.
Four million people re-use motor oil as a lubricant for other equipment.

On the morning of July 12, workers in the Otay Mesa area called the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department to check on an abandoned, white-colored, Isuzu flatbed truck that contained about 700 gallons of used motor oil.

"[It's] a truck leaking what appeared to be motor oil, leaking possibly into the storm drain," said Alma Lowry, a fire captain of the fire-rescue department, in an OnScene.tv interview. "We were experiencing a few drips, and we took measures to mitigate that with our absorb pads."

On the raw video footage, the camera handler zoomed out of the utility hole on the street, which was about seven feet away from the truck's liftgate; the utility hole's wall appeared to have remnants of a dark liquid. "Luckily, the storm drain is dry," Lowry commented.

Sponsored
Sponsored

It is illegal to discharge automobiles' pollutants, such as motor oil, degreasers, antifreeze, transmission fluid, and solvents, into the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, according to the City of San Diego site.

We are "in the process of finding the owner.... we have CHP and Sheriffs here helping us with that investigation," Lowry continued, "and offloading the motor oil right now."

On the clean-up video, hazmat workers from the county and fire and rescue department, dressed in either red or blue colored hazmat jumpsuits, are seen offloading the 100-plus 5-gallon containers atop a tarp laid on the sidewalk and dirt lot on the 7300 block of Calzada De La Fuente, about three miles northeast of the Otay Mesa Land Port of Entry. A sizable liquid tote container was on the truck's bed.

"They got a lucky break," opined Billy M., an Otay Mesa resident. "This [mitigation] probably saved our City a ton of money and heartache. That manhole leads to pipelines and tributaries, streams, creeks, rivers that'll eventually meet our ocean. They say one quart of motor oil can pollute 250,000 gallons of water. But also, the owner of the truck could've been on the way to the recyclers, and the truck conked out....

Lowry: "There are agencies that will come and pick up your used motor oil, or you can drop off used motor oil." In addition, in smaller quantities, participating auto stores take in old motor oil.

"Recycling old motor oil is a win-win," continued Billy, "I've seen people use it to stain [and preserve] wood."

"On average, about four million people re-use motor oil as a lubricant for other equipment or take it to a recycling facility," says the EPA website. "Less energy is required to produce a gallon of re-refined base stock than a base stock from crude oil. One gallon of used motor oil provides the same 2.5 quarts of lubricating oil as 42 gallons of crude oil."

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Birding & Brews: Breakfast Edition, ZZ Ward, Doggie Street Festival & Pet Adopt-A-Thon

Events November 21-November 23, 2024
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Four million people re-use motor oil as a lubricant for other equipment.
Four million people re-use motor oil as a lubricant for other equipment.

On the morning of July 12, workers in the Otay Mesa area called the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department to check on an abandoned, white-colored, Isuzu flatbed truck that contained about 700 gallons of used motor oil.

"[It's] a truck leaking what appeared to be motor oil, leaking possibly into the storm drain," said Alma Lowry, a fire captain of the fire-rescue department, in an OnScene.tv interview. "We were experiencing a few drips, and we took measures to mitigate that with our absorb pads."

On the raw video footage, the camera handler zoomed out of the utility hole on the street, which was about seven feet away from the truck's liftgate; the utility hole's wall appeared to have remnants of a dark liquid. "Luckily, the storm drain is dry," Lowry commented.

Sponsored
Sponsored

It is illegal to discharge automobiles' pollutants, such as motor oil, degreasers, antifreeze, transmission fluid, and solvents, into the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, according to the City of San Diego site.

We are "in the process of finding the owner.... we have CHP and Sheriffs here helping us with that investigation," Lowry continued, "and offloading the motor oil right now."

On the clean-up video, hazmat workers from the county and fire and rescue department, dressed in either red or blue colored hazmat jumpsuits, are seen offloading the 100-plus 5-gallon containers atop a tarp laid on the sidewalk and dirt lot on the 7300 block of Calzada De La Fuente, about three miles northeast of the Otay Mesa Land Port of Entry. A sizable liquid tote container was on the truck's bed.

"They got a lucky break," opined Billy M., an Otay Mesa resident. "This [mitigation] probably saved our City a ton of money and heartache. That manhole leads to pipelines and tributaries, streams, creeks, rivers that'll eventually meet our ocean. They say one quart of motor oil can pollute 250,000 gallons of water. But also, the owner of the truck could've been on the way to the recyclers, and the truck conked out....

Lowry: "There are agencies that will come and pick up your used motor oil, or you can drop off used motor oil." In addition, in smaller quantities, participating auto stores take in old motor oil.

"Recycling old motor oil is a win-win," continued Billy, "I've seen people use it to stain [and preserve] wood."

"On average, about four million people re-use motor oil as a lubricant for other equipment or take it to a recycling facility," says the EPA website. "Less energy is required to produce a gallon of re-refined base stock than a base stock from crude oil. One gallon of used motor oil provides the same 2.5 quarts of lubricating oil as 42 gallons of crude oil."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tigers In Cairo owes its existence to Craigslist

But it owes its name to a Cure tune and a tattoo
Next Article

Classical Classical at The San Diego Symphony Orchestra

A concert I didn't know I needed
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader