Crews work to clean up spill that sent fuel oil into Revere channel

REVERE – The owner of a cleanup company in Revere said he thinks kids looking for copper may have been responsible for an oil spill that occurred at 585 North Shore Road Thursday afternoon, causing the oil to spill into a channel.Jimmy Morando, owner of Total Group cleanup company, said a 230-gallon oil tank leaked after a valve somehow ruptured, but noted the spill was contained and there was no danger to the surrounding area.?We think kids were playing in here, possibly looking for copper,” said Morando. “Somehow the oil spilled, went into the ground and into the water. Revere Fire put a boom in there to contain it, and then what we?ll do is put around that a spongy boom, which will soak up the oil.”Revere Deputy Fire Chief Jim Cullen said an “unknown quantity” of fuel oil spilled out of a heating oil tank and into the channel off of 1A South.?The leak is stopped right now,” Cullen said Thursday afternoon. “There?s a clean-up company on site.”The spill occurred at an abandoned building next to the Broad Sound Tuna Club at around noon Thursday. Yellow oil booms could be seen stretched out around the water next to the building as clean-up crews pumped the remaining oil from the tank into steel drums.Cullen said a neighboring business discovered the leak after they noticed someone was in the building and called police.?It was leaking inside the building and down into the water from above,” he said.Morando said his workers were in the process of removing the oil from the tank in order to remove the tank and clean up the water.Morando said he didn?t know how much oil leaked, but noted there was about a quarter of a tank remaining.?No one knows how much fuel was in there,” said Morando.Morando said the spill didn?t appear “that bad,” but until the soil is tested, he said he can?t be certain how much oil is in the dirt.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].