Fuel Oil Spill Fouls San Francisco Bay and Beaches

An oil spills fouls the bay

58,000 gallons of fuel were spilled into San Francisco bay early Wednesday morning when the Cosco Buscan hit a protective bumper around a support tower on the San Francisco-Oakland bay bridge. The ship was heading from Oakland toward open water, a course that takes it underneath the Bay Bridge (the one the ship hit) and the Golden Gate Bridge.

The fog was heavy yesterday morning, something that is hardly unusual in San Francisco.

It was reported that initially the Coast Guard thought the spill was “minor”, later realizing that not to be the case. In fact, Bud Leland, deputy director of California’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response, said that it is the worst spill on San Francisco Bay since his office came into existence in 1991.

There are complaints from environmental organizations that the Coast Guard’s response was slow and that protective booms were not put in place fast enough.

Several beaches are closed, and those that regularly use the bay to provide for their families are warned not to fish in the bay for at least several weeks.

Dozens of birds and other wildlife have been found covered in oil and suffering. Birds recovered from the goo are being taken to a recovering center set up at San Francisco's Fort Mason complex.

Experts fear that as the tide pushes the oil out to sea, beaches up and down the north coast will become contaminated.

It’s bad enough to hear of an oil spill in some distant part of the world, but it can be truly heartbreaking to see it just down the street.

Sources and Further Reading:
Environmental News Network
San Francisco Chronicle

Photo Credit: Environmental News Network