Mineral oil leaks into Little Hunting Creek after transformer breaks

flood booms
(Fairfax Fire and Rescue image)

A transformer behind the Mount Vernon Plaza Shopping Center was struck by a truck on Friday afternoon, leading to a mineral oil leak that went into nearby Little Hunting Creek.

The incident. which was reported around 2:45 p.m., caused around 350 gallons of mineral oil from the transformer to leak, according to the Fairfax Fire & Rescue Department. Images posted by the fire department showed sand, booms and other spill containment materials guarding a storm drain near the transformer.

Dominion Energy spokeswoman Peggy Fox said Saturday that the transformer broke after a delivery truck behind the Shoppers in the plaza hit it. The truck drove away without reporting the incident.

The damage from the truck was extensive enough that oil began leaking from the transformer, causing it to catch fire, Fox said. The small fire caused a power outage, and when Dominion crews arrived on the scene, they discovered the burning transformer and oil leak, Fox said.

The fire was out by the time Fairfax Fire and Rescue arrived, according to the department’s Facebook page, which characterized the incident as a transformer “explosion.”

Sand and flood containment materials in the driveway behind the shopping center
(Fairfax Fire and Rescue image)

State Sen. Scott Surovell (D-36), said Saturday said that approximately 200 gallons of the oil went into the creek, which runs behind the shopping center. He said he had been in touch with Dominion and would be posting updates, and added that better stormwater infrastructure could have helped prevent oil from getting to the creek.

“Monitoring will be ongoing and take weeks,” Surovell said on Facebook. “This is obviously an environmentally sensitive area and I will post up comments if I have any updates. This also underscores how important it is for us to update our stormwater infrastructure.”

Fox said that crews contracted by Dominion were at the site performing cleanup until 10 p.m. Friday and then returned to the scene on Saturday.

This story has been updated with new information from Dominion Energy.

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