Some 900 people continue with California oil spill cleanup

Los Angeles, United States, Oct 8 (EFE).- More than 900 people continued Friday with cleaning tasks in different parts of southern California after the spill of some 570,000 liters of oil in the waters of that area almost a week ago.

This is an increase of 100 troops compared to Thursday, according to the data provided to EFE by the operations center of the Unified Command, in charge of cleaning, recovering and investigating the environmental disaster.

The command is made up of the United States Coast Guards, the California Wildlife and Fisheries Department, Orange County authorities and the oil company Amplify Energy, which owns the pipeline that caused the spill.

To date, cleanup crews have recovered nearly 21,000 liters of crude from the Pacific Ocean and about 78,200 kilograms of oil residue off the coast.

Much of the oil recovered in the ocean was thanks to more than 4,200 meters of containment barriers placed by the authorities in the waters off the Californian coast, according to the Unified Command.

To continue inspection tasks on the extent of the spill, Coast Guards have scheduled five flights for Friday, after completing four Thursday.

Oil has spread over an area that covers approximately 33 square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean, according to the latest official update.

Although the leak began Saturday from a pipeline that carries crude extracted from the Elly offshore platform, off the town of Huntington Beach, the spill has affected other coastal areas, such as Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Dana Point, all in Orange County, Los Angeles.

“For their safety, Orange County residents are advised to avoid contact with visible hydrocarbons on the beaches,” the Unified Command said in a statement.

However, the group reported it had sent several assessment teams Friday to different areas of San Diego County, further south, in search of visible signs of oil.

The source of the spill is unknown so far, but authorities are investigating whether a ship’s anchor may have been the trigger, Amplify Energy President and CEO Martyn Willsher said. EFE

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