Sewage, Storms Cannot Stop Surfers : Pollution: Enthusiasts ignore health warnings at closed beaches. ‘If I’m going to die or get sick, I’d rather have it happen in the ocean,’ said one.

Head held high and surfboard in hand, Matthew Hall ignored the health warnings and marched across the sand toward the 3- to 5-foot waves plunging at the Redondo Beach breakwater.

Officially, Los Angeles County beaches were closed as millions of gallons of sewage coupled with urban storm runoff sent bacteria counts rocketing to dangerous levels. But the ocean was business as usual for Hall and dozens of surfers who ignored pleas by lifeguards and walked right past bright yellow “Beach Closed--Avoid Water Contact” signs--grumbling about the pollution along the way.

“I live to surf,” said Hall, a 23-year-old with shoulder-length brown hair who has surfed since he was 8. “If I’m going to die or get sick, I’d rather have it happen in the ocean. I’ll go out if there is a toxic drum out there. If the water is green and glowing, I’ll still go out. Maybe I’ll get some cancer bump on my head and they’ll say it’s the result of surfing. Who knows?”

Pete Miller, 26, who left the water in Redondo Beach last week only because the smell was overwhelming, said: “Nothing is going to keep me out. I’ve been doing this since I was 7 years old. . . . I’m addicted to the ocean.”

All 76 miles of coastline in Los Angeles County remain closed, along with several miles in Ventura and Orange counties, because of more than 66 million gallons of partially treated sewage that has overflowed from storm-clogged sewage lines. Officials expect the beaches to remain closed through the end of the week. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted strict beach closure policies Tuesday requiring officials to warn the public of hazards after heavy rains, sewage spills and environmental accidents.

But warnings will not weaken what surfers say is the mysterious lure of the waves.

“When the surf’s good, other considerations tend to blur,” said Nick Carroll, 32, an avid surfer and editor of San Clemente-based Surfing magazine. “You don’t pass up a chance to surf good waves.”

Carroll added that surfers are generally an independent lot who are wary of official pronouncements. “I think a lot of surfers aren’t exactly trustful of official health warnings,” he said. “They’ve heard a lot of stuff from officials and they think a lot of it is nonsense.”

Experts put the intrepid beach-goers into the same category as other thrill-seekers who throw caution to the wind: motorcyclists who speed down freeways without helmets, bungee jumpers and even those who engage in promiscuous, unprotected sex.

“There is a real human need for danger,” said Dallas Willard, a USC philosophy professor who studies sports and society. “It is one of the vitamins of life. . . . Generally speaking, life is quite bland in our organized society. Everyone is concerned about keeping us safe. That deadens the personality of people without meaningful work or opportunities for adventure. Then out come the bungee cords and motorcycles.”

That is all gibberish to the surfers who hopped on their boards last week.

“Sometimes you’re just tempted. You can’t help it,” said Andrew Gushiken, 34, a surfer who heads the local chapter of Surfrider Foundation, an environmental group. “Most surfers will wait a day after a storm but there are those crazies that go out right away--and I’ve done it, too. You go out and take your chances. You spit a lot. You take a nice long shower.”

Lifeguards recommend that those who swim or surf in the ocean take showers when they finish and be sure to rinse their mouths, ears, eyes and noses. In addition, surfers who brave polluted waters have their own tricks for cutting down on illnesses.

One said he wipes rubbing alcohol in his ears to cut down on infection. Another takes vitamins before and after surfing to build up his resistance and rubs his skin with a moisturizing cream.

Nonetheless, health experts say staying out of the water is the only way of escaping the disease-causing bacteria that sewage and other urban spills bring.

“You shouldn’t be swimming in dirty water,” said Dr. Shirley Fannin, director of disease control programs for the county of Los Angeles. “You don’t know what’s in it. Any raw sewage is a no-no for skin contact or getting it in your mouth. It has human disease-causing potential.”

She called those who go into the water despite the warnings “scofflaws” and said they risk diarrhea, skin irritation, ear infections, stomachaches and fevers.

Still, surfers say the risk is worth it. And going in the water--closed beach or not--is within the law, surfers said, a point with which the county’s chief lifeguard, Don Rohrer, concurred.

Challenging the health warnings is not just a quixotic quest for a killer wave, some surfers said. Surfing magazine’s Carroll said ocean pollution is the biggest issue unifying surfers. “There are many things that surfers disagree on--what kind of surfboard to use, who’s the best surfer--but the one thing that welds all surfers together is their anger at the state of the beaches.”