Unified Command Continues Cleanup of Tar Balls Trained Volunteers Will Assist Effort

California Department of Fish and Game
01/29/2008

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Response crews from the U. S. Coast Guard (USCG), the California Department of Fish and Game's Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR), and contracted staff continue the cleanup of tar balls and assess impacts to beaches from Pacifica to Carmel.

DFG and USCG have formed a Unified Command and will continue to evaluate impacts to wildlife and the environment through the evening and into tomorrow. Tomorrow's operations will include six shoreline clean up and assessment teams (SCAT) and seven 12-person clean up crews.

The Unified Command is also working with California Volunteers to engage community members previously trained during the Cosco Busan response. Volunteers who received the hazardous material training will assist with beach assessments tomorrow in the Pacifica area.

While tar balls have not been found at every beach along this part of the coastline, the amounts recovered at impacted beaches range from zero to five gallons of oily product per mile. Further quantification of the amount of product recovered will take time since it is mixed in with sand, rock and other debris.

Laboratory tests to determine the source of the tar balls are being conducted and results will be provided to the Unified Command. Tar balls are often formed by naturally occurring seepage and can be more prevalent during the winter months. There is no evidence to suggest the source of the product is related to the Cosco Busan oil spill that occurred in Nov. 2007.

San Mateo County park rangers and the Unified Command ask that the public stay at least 300 feet away from marine mammals on the beaches. Responders will also maintain this distance because it is harbor seal pupping seasons.