UPDATE on Wed., Jan. 30th:
Today the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the oil globs that washed up on San Mateo County beaches on Jan. 28th and 29th did not come from last year’s Cosco Busan oil spill, according to the U.S. Coast Guard and based on tests conducted by the California State Department of Fish and Game.
The goo and tar that washed up on the beaches was due to natural seepage from the ocean floor, as is common further south in the Santa Barbara Channel. It is possible that the recent winter storm activity generated this seepage.
As of Wednesday, the Pacifica beaches were reopened at noon, though cleanup work was still being conducted at other beaches, including as far south as Monterey.
Below is the original news item:
Oil globs washed up on some local San Mateo County Beaches on Monday, January 28, 2008 and today. As of this morning, Linda Mar and Rockaway Beaches were closed in Pacifica, as well as the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach.
Linda Mar and other San Mateo County beaches had already been posted over the past several days due to contaminated water from recent rains and the resulting storm runoff. However, San Mateo County officials began beach closures yesterday due to tar balls washing up at local beaches that have ranged from the size of a quarter to approximately one foot in diameter.
One of our writers talked to a Coast Guard official at Linda Mar Beach this morning, at which time he said that it was unclear whether or not this oil/tar is part of the Cosco Busan oil spill or an unrelated event. As of 9 AM PST this morning, there were several clean up workers bagging the sticky goo on the beach at Linda Mar. We did an unofficial check of the water/beach at Princeton Jetty this morning. We didn’t see any tar. However, there was a smell of petroleum. It’s unclear if that was from some recently washed up logs or something else.
If you’re desperate enough to brave the potentially toxic tar balls and the certainly elevated water bacteria levels, then perhaps the news that surf conditions are reportedly very poor everywhere from Half Moon Bay to San Francisco this morning will convince you to stay out of the water for now.
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