As most of the country knows, a week ago Wednesday, there was an oil spill in San Francisco Bay. 58,000 gallons of heavy bunker fuel leaked from a gash in a boat that went off course and struck on of the retaining walls around one of the towers of the western section of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. If there is a silver lining for those of us who live here, it's that there was no damage to the Bay Bridge structure itself. WHEW!
I think I speak for a great deal of us here that we're incredibly sad that this occurred right here in our waters. I wanted to figure out how I could help. Yesterday, I got an email from my local NERT group informing me that there would be a training for oil cleanup to be held this afternoon. I was ready for action. However, later that evening, it was posted that the response for cleanup volunteers was overwhelming and that there wasn't enough work for them to train and certify another large group of volunteers.
Alas. Since I had planned on the afternoon being occupied with cleanup, I decided to take the N-Judah out to Ocean Beach just to see what things looked like. This is what I saw when I got there.
I snuck onto the beach anyway to see what it looked like. Here is absorption mat made out of human hair. I saw an article about these in the Chronicle
I walked up the beach and spoke with a man wearing a jacket with EPA stitched to the back. I figured he would know what the details were so I chatted him up. He informed me that groups of trained and certified volunteers were sent out in groups of 10-12 for two hour shifts. At this point, and at this location, the oil is in blobs the size of nickels. It's heavy and viscous enough to be picked up with gloves or a fork type tool. As you'll see in subsequent pictures, the beach, from afar, looks much like it does typically. According to the media, the beaches should be cleared for opening in the next week or so.
A group being briefed in the staging area before being sent out.
Suiting up!
Volunteers at work.
At the end of a shift, each volunteer disrobes and gets a scrub down.
I'm glad I went down to Ocean Beach today. I guess I imagined it looking like the pictures we all saw from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska where there were large sheets of oil. I'm glad that the volunteer turnout was high and that the work is being done quickly. I know that there has been some grumbling about the slow reaction time and reporting of the size of the spill. But, things look good from where I stood. Perhaps all the doomsday reports about long term impact on the environment and birds will take place. I hope not though.
I think I speak for a great deal of us here that we're incredibly sad that this occurred right here in our waters. I wanted to figure out how I could help. Yesterday, I got an email from my local NERT group informing me that there would be a training for oil cleanup to be held this afternoon. I was ready for action. However, later that evening, it was posted that the response for cleanup volunteers was overwhelming and that there wasn't enough work for them to train and certify another large group of volunteers.
Alas. Since I had planned on the afternoon being occupied with cleanup, I decided to take the N-Judah out to Ocean Beach just to see what things looked like. This is what I saw when I got there.
I walked up the beach and spoke with a man wearing a jacket with EPA stitched to the back. I figured he would know what the details were so I chatted him up. He informed me that groups of trained and certified volunteers were sent out in groups of 10-12 for two hour shifts. At this point, and at this location, the oil is in blobs the size of nickels. It's heavy and viscous enough to be picked up with gloves or a fork type tool. As you'll see in subsequent pictures, the beach, from afar, looks much like it does typically. According to the media, the beaches should be cleared for opening in the next week or so.
I'm glad I went down to Ocean Beach today. I guess I imagined it looking like the pictures we all saw from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska where there were large sheets of oil. I'm glad that the volunteer turnout was high and that the work is being done quickly. I know that there has been some grumbling about the slow reaction time and reporting of the size of the spill. But, things look good from where I stood. Perhaps all the doomsday reports about long term impact on the environment and birds will take place. I hope not though.
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