After an oil spill off the coast of California, things are finally returning to a state of normalcy. For three days in California, seven miles of beaches have been closed due the mysterious appearance of large of amounts of oil on the coast. Authorities believe that it may be related to an oil tanker or a refinery nearby, but for now, the origin remains unclear, and it could take days or even weeks to discover the origin of the curious goo.
Beaches empty for days affect travelers headed there for the weekend
Only cleanup crews and experts have been allowed anywhere near the plagued areas since the blobs of oil started to appear south of Santa Monica in the past few days. Beach-goers were escorted away from beaches in the days following the spill, and were not allowed to return for many days. This affected the local businesses in the area, because without beach visitors being able to swim in the ocean, the restaurants and shops nearest to the site no longer get the foot traffic that they rely so heavily on. Although it has been shut down for days, the Coast Guard issued a statement declaring the beaches’ safety: “The South Bay Incident Unified Command reopened El Segundo, Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo Beaches for public use at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The Los Angeles County Public Health Department has deemed the beaches safe for the public.”
Possible origins of the mysterious oil blobs
Although 101,000 gallons of oil were recently spilled off the coast of California, so far experts have not linked the two events together in any way. While it is possible that the two occurrences are related, speculation has not led experts to link them to each other yet. In their statement, the Coast Guard acknowledges that the origins of the oil globs are unknown, but under current investigation, “The Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Wildlife have collected tar ball samples. Laboratory analysis of this material to determine a possible source is still pending.”
The beaches are open for now, but the environmental implications of the mysterious blobs have yet to be identified, just as the blobs themselves are still a mystery. Experts worked hard to clean up the affected beaches, and in the coming days, the exact origin will hopefully be identified and made known to the public.
