Oil Sheen Found On Hudson River Near Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- The U.S. Coast Guard was investigating Friday, after an oil sheen was spotted along the Hudson River offshore from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
As Joe Biermann reported from Chopper 2, the mysterious oil sheen ran from the marina in Englewood Cliffs about two miles north of the George Washington Bridge all the way south to the bridge itself.
The oil was first spotted around 3 p.m.
As WCBS 880's Stephanie Colombini reported, Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe emphasized that an oil sheen is different from an oil slick.
"It's not a continuing spill of any kind," he said.
Rowe said sheens involve a lot less oil than spills. They can sometimes appear as runoff from highways after a rainstorm.
Rowe said as little as half a cup of oil could produce a sheen the size of a football field, like the one seen on the Hudson.
"What you're seeing is the oil, heavily dispersed in water, and it's simply reflecting light," he said.
The Coast Guard was taking samples from the sheen, and trying to figure out exactly what it was and where it was coming from, Biermann reported.
The lower area of Palisades Interstate Park in Englewood Cliffs as closed for a period of time due to the smell of the oil, according to Palisades Interstate Parkway police.
Police said the sheen dissipated quickly enough that no cleanup will be necessary.