Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
The oil spill on Oct. 2, 2021 happened about five miles off the shores of Huntington Beach in Orange County, California.
The beach was closed to the public shortly after the spill was identified due to health risks. People could experience eye and skin irritation, along with headaches and vomiting, if they were to enter the water.
"Even when an oil sheen may not be visible, dispersed and dissolved oil contaminants may exist in the water," County Health Officer Dr. Clayton Chau said in a CNN article.
Huntington Beach was later reopened once health risks were removed from the public.
The oil came from a pipeline owned by Amplify Energy, an independent oil and natural gas company. A crack, possibly from a ship anchor, had been widening for about a year in the pipe, eventually leading to the oil spill. It was originally believed that the crack released about 3,000 barrels of oil, when in reality only 588 barrels were spilled. Although the spill was smaller than the initial estimation, it still had deadly impacts on the environment.
According to Sarah Moon, a news editor at CNN, “The Oiled Wildlife Network reported that as of Thursday 84 birds were recovered, 53 of which were found dead. Fourteen dead fish were found.”
Photo: Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP
These environmental tragedies brought up chatter within California politics. Environmentalists are pushing government officials to ban offshore drilling, as the oil spill count, especially in California, has been rising. The protestors were calling for Michelle Steel, a California Congresswoman, to support a new ban on offshore drilling that could possibly be included in President Joe Biden’s economic spending bill.
As of Sunday, October 9, about 3,150 gallons of oil were cleaned up. Floating barriers made of metal and plastic, called Booms, were set in place to contain the oil.
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