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Oil globs close Los Angeles-area beaches to swimming (Update)
18
May, 2015
Popular
beaches along nearly 7 miles of Los Angeles-area coastline were
off-limits to surfing and swimming Thursday as scientists looked for
the source of globs of tar that washed ashore.
The
sand and surf on south Santa Monica Bay appeared virtually free of
oil after an overnight cleanup, but officials weren't sure if more
tar would show up. They planned to assess during low tide at midday.
U.S.
Coast Guard and state officials said samples of tar and water would
be analyzed to identify where it originated, but it could take days
to get the results.
Nothing has been ruled out, including last week's
coastal oil spill that created a 10-square-mile slick about 100 miles
to the northwest off the Santa Barbara County coast.
There
is also a refinery and offshore oil tanker terminal nearby, but the
Coast Guard did not find a sheen from a spill after the tar started
to accumulate Wednesday.
No
problems with wildlife have been reported, said Sau Garcia of the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Lifeguards
chased a handful of surfers out of the water, but beach life was
otherwise normal for people exercising, playing volleyball, skating
and riding bikes along the shore.
"I
got a couple waves in and then they came by again and told me to get
out," said Scott Berk, who regularly surfs at Manhattan Beach.
He
said surfers are used to seeing bits of tar in the water and on the
shore from natural seafloor seepage, but the amount that came in
Wednesday was concerning.
A
cleanup crew collects balls of tar that washed ashore in Manhattan
Beach, Calif. on Thursday, May 28, 2015. Popular beaches along nearly
7 miles of Los Angeles-area coastline are off-limits to surfing and
swimming after balls of tar washedclass="Apple-converted-space" …more
"I
hope they clean it up quickly," he said.
Public
health officials told people to avoid contact with the water, wet
sand or any material that washed up in the area. They warned that
contact with petroleum products can cause skin irritation and result
in long-term health problems.
Officials
said it appeared to be about a barrel or two of oil—nothing like
the Santa Barbara spill that killed some 16 birds and nine marine
mammals, including dolphins and sea lions.
Lifeguards
ask beachgoers to leave the beach after balls of tar washed ashore in
Manhattan Beach, Calif. on Thursday, May 28, 2015. Popular beaches
along nearly 7 miles of Los Angeles-area coastline are off-limits to
surfing and swimmingclass="Apple-converted-space" …more
A
small amount of tar also was reported Wednesday about 60 miles to the
north in Oxnard, officials said.
Jane
Hamburg, 54, of Cincinnati, saw news of the tar on TV and came down
expecting black beaches. Instead, she found clean, groomed sand and
no shortage of joggers, bicyclists and dog walkers.
"Looks
good from where I'm standing," she said in Manhattan Beach. "I
was expecting it to interrupt my day. Now, I just hope the sun comes
out."
A
crew cleans up a beach after balls of tar washed ashore in Manhattan
Beach, Calif. on Thursday, May 28, 2015. Popular beaches along nearly
7 miles of Los Angeles-area coastline are off-limits to surfing and
swimming after balls of tar
A
cleanup crew collects balls of tar that washed ashore in Manhattan
Beach, Calif. on Thursday, May 28, 2015. Popular beaches along nearly
7 miles of Los Angeles-area coastline are off-limits to surfing and
swimming after balls of tar washedclass="Apple-converted-space" …more
Contaminated
bags of sand and oil are loaded onto a track loader in Manhattan
Beach, Calif., on Thursday, May 28, 2015. Popular beaches along
nearly 7 miles of Los Angeles-area coastline are off-limits to
surfing and swimming after balls
ofclass="Apple-converted-space" …more
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