Raises health and environmental concerns
A CLEANUP operation was underway on Wednesday, June 3, on a four-mile stretch of coastline in Long Beach, Calif. that was closed the day before after an unexplainable amount of tar balls washed ashore.
About 55 gallons of the sticky substance were collected by 4:00 am, and samples will be tested by the US Coast Guard to determine the source. It is unknown whether the globs were naturally occurring or due to a leak of some kind.
There was no immediate indication that the tar balls came from operations by the Long Beach Gas and Oil Department, officials said.
Long Beach’s fire chief described the tar globs found earlier this week as “considerably larger” than the usual pieces found on Southern California’s beaches.
“In Southern California, the naturally occurring tar-type substance, the little pieces are fairly common,” said Fire Chief Mike DuRee. “This piece here is a considerably different consistency, considerably larger. This is what’s causing us concern.”
Site surveys conducted at oil and gas operation in the city revealed no problems, DuRee said. “There were not leaks to be found, everything is normal there.”
The shoreline closure extended from 1st to 72nd Place, the Long Beach Fire Department said. It was unclear how long the closure would remain in effect as authorities continue to collect samples of the tar.
Residents and visitors are asked to stay away from the closure area for their safety. Primary health concern involves contact with skin, which can cause an uncomfortable rash, according to health officials. Wildlife is also affected, and a California brown pelican found saturated in tar has been found and taken by animal control for proper care and treatment.
“The beach remains closed for an undetermined amount of time,” said Jake Heflin of the Long Beach Fire Department.
The closure comes a day after similar, large globs of sticky tar washed ashore Zuma Beach, along the coasts of Ventura and Malibu, and by certain stretches of beach on the southern part of Santa Monica Bay. An 11-mile stretch of beach was closed in that area.
Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were trying to determine the oil spill’s travel through existing weather patterns.
Tests were underway to determine if the tar was related to the spill if about 21,000 gallons of crude oil from a pipeline at Refugio Beach, 10 miles west of Santa Barbara, on May 19. Federal regulators determined this week that the pipeline was corroded. The spill released as much as 101,000 gallons of crude, and an estimated 21,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean.
According to the NOAA, tar balls are remnants of oil spills that occur when crude floats on the ocean surface, changing its physical composition in processes known as “weathering.” After an oil spill or natural seepage from fissures in the ocean floor, waves and wind break up the slick into small patches, or tar balls, that scatter into the ocean.
Tar balls can travel hundreds of miles. Long Beach Animal Control also announced that officials have not discovered animals affected by the sticky tar.
(With reports from NBCLA, Los Angeles Times)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend June 6-9, 2015 Sec. A pg.6)
