Three Miles of Shoreline Along Huntington Beach May Be Reopened Today : Cleanup: Tests by chemists must show that not enough oil traces remain to pose a health threat. Areas opened Wednesday included the Wedge in Newport.

Three miles of shoreline in Huntington Beach may reopen today if results from health tests show that beaches once coated with Alaskan crude oil from the tanker American Trader are clean enough to pose no serious safety threat, officials said.

Chemists have tested more than 180 samples of sand taken between Golden West Street and Magnolia Avenue. If no significant levels of petroleum hydrocarbons are discovered, Huntington Beach officials are prepared to lift a public ban on that stretch of beach.

Results from the tests--required by local municipalities after the 394,000-gallon spill on Feb. 7--are expected today.

“We are anticipating good news,” city spokesman Dennis Williams said. “If the results are favorable, we are ready to open the beaches immediately.”

Favorable results from tests conducted on 40 samples of sand taken between Balboa Pier and the entrance to Newport Harbor prompted Newport Beach officials on Wednesday to reopen that mile-long stretch of shore.

State and local health officials have agreed that beaches are generally safe if the average level of petroleum hydrocarbons--including several cancer-causing agents--is less than 100 parts per million. Newport Beach Fire Capt. Ray Pendleton said samples of sand between Balboa Pier and the harbor entrance showed an average of 6.6 parts per million.

“The beaches are in really good shape,” Pendleton said. “We are confident that they are safe.”

Among the areas reopened Wednesday was the world-famous body surfing spot known as the Wedge next to the Newport Harbor entrance, and less than a half hour after the ban was lifted, half a dozen swimmers were in the water challenging the waves.

Pendleton predicted that by next week all of Newport Beach’s sands could be open again, but he added that the shoreline between Newport Pier and the Santa Ana River mouth will be off limits this weekend as cleanup workers continue to scrub rock jetties in the area.

About 360 workers were deployed Wednesday from Bolsa Chica State Beach to Newport Pier, with the largest concentration near the river mouth where oil severely fouled several jetties, including one leading to a wildlife wetlands.

Meanwhile, investigators looking into the spill officially confirmed that the forward hull of the tanker American Trader was in fact punctured by the ship’s port anchor.

After a detailed examination of the tanker--now in dry dock in San Francisco for repairs--officials said the two holes in the hull match up exactly to the vessel’s 12 1/2-foot-long, 6-foot-wide anchor.

“The holes do match with degrees of certainty the holes in the (hull) plate,” said Sanford Schmidt, president of American Trading Transportation Co., owner of the 811-foot tanker.