ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, August 12, 1996 TAG: 9608120093
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN SNIDER
Roanoke County firefighters spent 2 1/2 hours Sunday mopping up a small petroleum spill in Tinker Creek near Hollins.
A hazardous material crew from Hollins Fire and Rescue responded shortly after 2:30 p.m. to a section of the creek near the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. on U.S.11.
Assistant Chief Scott Graham said a nearby resident noticed a chemical in the creek that firefighters later determined was either oil or gasoline.
It was a very small spill, with only enough fuel to create a "rainbow" sheen on the water's surface, Graham said. Crews blocked off the creek downstream from the spill.
Graham said the spill never approached the point of being an emergency situation.
The fuel entered the creek through a storm drain on U.S. 11, but Graham said it will be difficult to find out where it originated. It might have been runoff from a parking lot.
The state Department of Environmental Quality and utility departments in Roanoke and Botetourt counties and Roanoke - the creek runs through all three localities - will investigate the source.
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