(Updates with comment from Coast Guard)
By Elizabeth Dilts
NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - Between nine and 18 barrels(378-756 gallons) of oil spilled into Lake Michigan from BPPlc's Whiting refinery in Indiana after amalfunction on Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed onWednesday.
The amount of oil spilled is based on an initial visualestimate and may change, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said.
The spill occurred Monday afternoon at a recently upgradedwater treatment plant in a cove that leads into the lake, thecompany and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said. About5,000 square yards of water was coated in an oily sheen and oilslicks could be seen on the shore and rocks, BP said in an initial report to the EPA.
The cleanup continued Wednesday as crews vacuumed up 5,200gallons of oily water from the area, a U.S. Coast Guardspokesman said. Barriers at the mouth of the cove to block theoil from flowing to the lake were replaced after strong windsand waves blew them out of place on Tuesday. The winds blew theoil further into the cove up onto the shoreline, the Coast guardspokesman said.
There is no evidence that oil leaked outside of thecontainment boom, the EPA said. (Reporting By Elizabeth Dilts; Editing by Nick Zieminski andChizu Nomiyama)