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Oil Washes Up On San Mateo County Beaches

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Jan 29, 2008 8:34 am US/Pacific

Oil Washes Up On San Mateo County Beaches

MOSS BEACH (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― U.S. Coast Guard pollution investigators were expected to return to Peninsula beaches Tuesday in the effort to determine the source of a miles-long strip of oil that washed up on San Mateo County coast.

Petty Officer Michael Anderson said a three-mile ribbon of oil about six inches wide was found along the Moss Beach coastline Monday.

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.

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.

Officials said the distance from the crash site made it unlikely that the oil came from the November 7th Cosco Busan oil spill on the San Francisco Bay.

County emergency representatives said no animals appeared to have been harmed by the oil.

(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)

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