McChord Pipeline shut after jet fuel leak in Parkland, Washington

[August 03, 2017]    (Reuters) - An underground leak of jet fuel in Parkland, Washington, on Wednesday led to the shutdown of the McChord Pipeline owned by U.S. Oil & Refining Co., the state's environmental protection agency said.

The volume of the spill has not been ascertained and none of the leaked fuel, which has been contained, from the pipeline had reached surface water in the area, the Washington Department of Ecology said in a statement.

A nearby apartment building was evacuated earlier on Wednesday for air quality monitoring, but the residents had since been allowed to return to the building, it added.

The McChord Pipeline is a single 6-inch diameter, 14.25-mile long pipeline that runs between the U.S. Oil & Refining Co. refinery in Tacoma and storage tanks on the McChord Air Force Base in Washington, according to the company website.

The company was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Arpan Varghese in BENGALURU; Editing by Tom Hogue and Mark Potter)

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