Dead Sea Snails Wash Ashore From Oil Spill Off Seal Beach

Dead sea snails that washed ashore in Seal Beach indicate that the effects of an oil spill caused by a leaking pipeline were more serious than originally thought, officials said Thursday.

A spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game said the snails, which are not an endangered species, are the only sea life affected so far. But, spokesman Curt Taucher added, crude oil “can stick to the feathers of birds. And with abalones and sea snails, it acts as a hindrance to their mucus membranes.”

Fish and Game workers were assessing the damage Thursday afternoon, Taucher said.

Beaches Closed

“We probably won’t have clear evidence until Friday, but it looks like around four or five miles (of ocean) have been affected,” he said.

Beaches from Anaheim Bay to Belmont Pier in Long Beach, which were closed Wednesday, were expected to reopen today.

The Exxon Co. pipeline that ruptured 100 yards offshore extends from a drilling and production facility on Belmont Island, 1 1/2 miles southwest of the Seal Beach pier, to a processing plant in Seal Beach. The leak was spotted by a resident Wednesday morning.

Authorities Wednesday had said the spill appeared to be minor and presented no danger to wildlife or the environment.

A marine biologist consultant was called in Thursday to examine the situation, Exxon spokeswoman Carrie Chassin said.

The company estimated that about 420 gallons of oil mixed with seawater leaked from the pipeline. But only 125 gallons of that was crude oil, said Vern Gaede of the oil and gas division of the state Department of Conservation.

About 70% of the oil had been cleaned up by Thursday, Chassin said. “All of the oil in the water has been recovered,” she said. The remainder had reached the beaches and was expected to be cleaned by Thursday night.

A Coast Guard spokesman in Long Beach said officials flew over the area Thursday and agreed that about 70% of the oil had been removed.

In April, 1984, about 800 gallons of oil leaked into the ocean from an offshore rig owned by Houston-based Aminoil USA near Huntington Beach. Small globules of tar washed up on more than a mile of Orange County coastline, but there was little or no damage to wildlife, state officials said. Coast Guard spokesman Charles Embleton said spills like these occur “six, maybe 10 times a year” in Southern California.