McAbee Beach in Monterey was closed Feb. 11 after it was found that a mysterious “petroleum-like” substance was leaking around an old cement foundation. Today, the culprit was found: a derelict fuel tank that likely contains kerosene dating back to the area’s industrial past.
“The tank isn’t so much leaking as it is oozing,” says Monterey Chief of Planning Chip Rerig. “We have to remember that area of Monterey was full of heavy industry decades ago.”
Half of McAbee Beach is owned by the city of Monterey, while another half, where the underground storage tank was found, belongs to the Cannery Row Company, says Rerig. The Peninsula HAZMAT teams determined the substance to be kerosene and it will be sent out to a lab to be analyzed for PCBs and other toxins, says Rerig.
The beach will be closed until further notice. Remediation efforts will be dependent on lab findings and will be at the expense of the Cannery Row Company, Rerig adds. The forgotten fuel tank was yet to be unearthed and it is unknown how much fuel it contains.
No one with the Cannery Row Company was available for comment.
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