SANFORD (AP) – A 15-pound snapping turtle has been rescued from wetlands contaminated by a large oil leak at Goodall Hospital.

The leak, discovered last month, occurred when a corroded underground fuel line leaked 500 to 1,000 gallons of fuel oil into a forested wetland.

Cleanup workers found the turtle in some mud last week. It was covered with oil, was moving slowly and was blowing bubbles from its nostrils.

“She was probably not feeling too well. It looked like she had ingested oil,” said Stephen Brezinski, an oil and hazardous materials specialist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

The turtle is now recuperating at the Center for Wildlife in York.

Karen McElmurry, director of the center, said the staff cleaned up the turtle – which they have named “Cheryl” – with dishwashing liquid and a toothbrush.

For now, Cheryl is staying in a tub of water to keep it hydrated and encourage it to pass contaminants it has ingested. Cheryl has yet to show any signs of appetite but is being enticed with fish and dead mice.

It is not clear whether Cheryl is a male or female, McElmurry said.

The turtle, which is about 18 inches long, is most likely in its teens, she said. Turtles are usually hibernating in mud at this time of year, which may explain some of the turtle’s initial lethargy.

Brezinski said his department handles about 1,000 hazardous spills a year in southern Maine, but only one or two a year are as large as the spill in Sanford. The leak was discovered Feb. 1 by a security guard on a routine walk of the grounds.

Barbara Parker, a state environmental specialist, said Goodall Hospital faces no fines because hospital officials immediately reported the leak when it was discovered.

AP-ES-03-13-04 1203EST