Jan 29, 2008 6:25 am US/Pacific
Mystery Tar Balls Wash Up On Calif. Beaches
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) ―
U.S. Coast Guard pollution investigators were trying to determine the source of a miles-long strip of oil that washed up on San Mateo County beaches Monday.
Petty Officer Michael Anderson said a three-mile ribbon of oil about six inches wide was found along the Moss Beach coastline.
Cleanup crews also recovered about 30 gallons of oily soil and tar balls from Pacifica Beach to the north.
Coast Guard officials also sent out cleanup crews to Rockaway Beach and Esplanade Beach to clear the weathered oil.
As of Monday evening, officials had not determined where the oil came from.
This morning, a lab in Sacramento will begin analyzing the softball-sized globs of oil to see if they can determine where they came from.
The Coast Guard said it had received no new reports of any damaged or actively leaking vessels, and investigators thought the substance was likely older oil that had lingered in the ocean.
Recent storms may have stirred up the old oil and washed it onto the beaches, said San Mateo County Office of Emergency Services district coordinator Steve Mahaley.
Investigators planned test oil samples to get a "fingerprint," or chemical signature that would help them establish its origin, according to the Coast Guard.
County emergency officials said no animals appeared to have been harmed by the oil.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
