Authorities investigate reports of oil sheen, strong odor

Coast Guard crews are planning to investigate the oil sheen Wednesday morning.

Vallejo is a city of roughly 116,000 people that sits on the San Pablo Bay near several refineries, including the Chevron Richmond Refinery, Phillips 66 and east of the bay in the Carquinez Straight, the Valero Benicia Refinery.

KQED Science Editor Craig Miller, who lives in Vallejo, described the odor as it first began wafting through the area. Our internal response team immediately responded to the incident and we notified the National Response Center (NRC) and the United States Coast Guard.

Firefighters on Wednesday said the smell did not originate within the Vallejo city limits.

The Vallejo Fire Department said Tuesday evening it has received more than 500 calls reporting a strong gas smell in the Glen Cove and Beverly Hills Park neighborhoods.

Vallejo residents have been told by officials it’s safe to leave the house and school is back in session.

Ferry service has been restored, but the sheen and the smell persist. “I could feel that I was starting to get very congested in my lungs, which is not normal, and my head just started pounding”.

The sheen took authorities some time to find. Their gas detectors didn’t pick up the trace of gas in the air and nothing was reported from the refineries. Patients at local hospitals reported burning in throats and noses. Officials said ferry service has resumed in Vallejo.