SF Oil Cleanup Gases Up, Volunteers Rebuffed

Coast Guard sends eager residents home
By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 11, 2007 6:44 AM CST
SF Oil Cleanup Gases Up, Volunteers Rebuffed
A worker with NRC Environmental Services cleans the oil-covered Rodeo Beach near Muir Beach, Calif., Friday, Nov. 9, 2007. Some 58,000 gallons of oil were spilled into the bay after a container ship hit a tower of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco Wednesday. The U.S. Coast Guard's top official in California...   (Associated Press)

As cleanup of the San Francisco oil spill intensifies, so does the frustration of volunteers blocked from pitching in. At least one organizer ended up in handcuffs when his group ignored a park ranger's order to get off a beach and instead scooped up globs of oil. Hundreds of residents who arrived for what they thought were training sessions were told to go home because oil is "hazardous," reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Coast Guard, criticized for its slow response to the disaster, has quadrupled the armada of cleanup boats and doubled the force of workers. But environmentalists say the action was too slow to stop major contamination, and 20 beaches have been closed. The Coast Guard said yesterday that human error caused the 58,000-gallon oil spill that occurred when a tanker crashed into the Bay Bridge. (More San Francisco stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X