Oil Spill Incident off California Coast... At Least 470,000 Liters Released

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] A massive oil spill occurred off the coast of Southern California, USA, raising concerns about a large-scale environmental disaster as dead fish and birds are washing ashore.

On the 3rd (local time), CNN cited a tweet posted by Katrina Foley, the administrative supervisor of Orange County, California, stating, "We have started to find dead birds and fish washed up on the (Huntington Beach) shore."

Huntington Beach is a beach located south of Los Angeles (LA), approximately 19 km west of Irvine, where many Korean residents live.

Supervisor Foley said, "The large-scale oil spill that has struck the beautiful beach is worsening," adding, "I was just notified that oil continues to leak from the ruptured pipeline connected to the 'Elli' oil drilling platform."

Foley added that the oil spill site is about 8 km offshore from the Huntington Beach coast.

The drilling platform in question was installed in 1980 above an underwater oil reservoir called the 'Beta Field' and has been processing the extracted crude oil.

The oil spill was first reported to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) on the morning of the 2nd, and although the pipeline was shut off afterward, the Washington Post (WP) reported that the leak had not completely stopped as of the morning of the 3rd.

The amount of spilled oil is estimated to be at least about 3,000 barrels (approximately 477,000 liters). The oil slick is believed to have spread about 10.7 km from Huntington Beach southward to Newport Beach.

Kim Carr, mayor of Huntington Beach, expressed concern that this spill could become a "potential environmental disaster."

She also added that oil appears to have flowed into the Talbert Wetlands, home to about 90 species of birds.

The city of Huntington Beach stated that preliminary cleanup work in the spill area has been completed and that additional restoration efforts will be attempted on the 3rd.

However, the exact cause of the oil spill has not yet been determined. The U.S. Coast Guard has classified this incident as a major oil spill and is investigating the cause and the owner of the pipeline.

Additionally, Huntington Beach officials canceled the final day of the scheduled 'Pacific Airshow' and closed all beaches. Residents have been advised to avoid the beaches, nearby parks, and walking trails due to the toxicity of the spilled oil.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.