2007 San Francisco Bay oil spill

The 2007 San Francisco Bay oil spill was an oil spill that occurred on on 7 November 2007 at San Francisco, California, in which 58,000 gallons (220,000 litres) of IFO-380 bunker fuel^[1] were spilled into San Francisco Bay after the container ship COSCO Busan collided with the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge in thick fog.^[2]

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency after meeting with federal, state and local officials overseeing the cleanup. The proclamation made additional state personnel, funding and equipment available to assess and clean up the environmental damage.^[3]

Contents 1 Responsibility 2 Area affected 3 Effects 3.1 Environmental 3.2 Economic 4 Volunteering 5 Cleanup timeline 6 Aftermath 7 Prior spills 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

Responsibility

Senator Barbara Boxer and Mayor Gavin Newsom criticized the Coast Guard for their response, as their initial reported figures, between 100 and 400 gallons of oil, were significantly lower than those of the actual spill.^[4]

On Friday, 30 November 2007, the United States government filed a lawsuit against both the ship and the pilot.

On July 23, 2008, a federal grand jury indicted Fleet Management Ltd. of Hong Kong, the company that operated the Cosco Busan. The indictment included six felonies for allegedly falsifying documents to interfere with a federal investigation and two misdemeanor counts of criminal negligence for allegedly helping to cause the spill. ^[5]

Area affected

The tidal mechanics of San Francisco Bay^[6] caused the spill to spread very quickly, affecting a large area of the California North Coast, including the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Ocean Beach and the Marin Headlands.^[7]

Over 50 public beaches were closed, including Crissy Field, Fort Point, Baker Beach, China Beach and Kirby Cove.^[8]

By 14 November 2007, beaches as far south as Pacifica, California had been closed due to the spill.^[9]

Richmond's shoreline and wildlife were seriously affected by the spill. Beaches and shorelines were closed, but later reopened. However, access was still restricted as of December 2007.^[10] The government organizations responsible for coordination and of relief and cleanup were accused of ignoring Richmond, since it is a poor area that is already polluted.^{[citation needed]}

Effects

Environmental

According to the California Department of Fish and Game, 1,084 birds were collected alive (421 of which were rehabilitated and released) and 1,856 were collected dead.^[11] The actual number of birds impacted is subject to investigation. Three marine mammals were also collected dead. Approximately 200 miles (320 km) of coastline were oiled, though most of that was only lightly oiled.^[12] Herring, which typically enter the Bay in December, may also be hurt, along with predators which feed on herring.

Economic

Several fisheries in the Bay Area may have been affected by the spill and the crab and sport fishing seasons were postponed by several weeks.^[13] As of November 30, State biologists had tested more than 1,100 samples of fish, mussels, and Dungeness crab in San Francisco Bay and coastal waters outside the Golden Gate. The tests found unsafe levels of contaminants in mussels from Rodeo Beach and the Berkeley pier.

Volunteering

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (December 2007)

Initial official releases from public agencies warned against involvement of volunteers, and worked to deflect volunteers into non-contact activities. This included asking people to act as drivers for bird transport, or as support staff to other efforts. The U.S. Coast Guard directed volunteers to clean non-oiled beaches.^[14]

For the first few days OSHA rules were interpreted as requiring HAZWOPER certification, a minimum of 24 hours of classroom time, prior to involvement in any effort that may result in oil contact. Eventually, and after significant pressure from would-be volunteers, a four-hour "Disaster Service Worker Volunteer Certification" subset of the course was offered.^[15] OSHA rules require exactly 240 minutes of classroom time, and the certification is valid for only one incident, e.g., this oil spill.

Cleanup timeline

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (December 2007)

Ad-hoc volunteers were discouraged from cleaning beaches during the early days following the spill, as government workers and private contractor The O'Brien's Group handled the official disaster response. On 11 November 2007, cleanup and reports were focused on damage assessment of the COSCO Busan.^[16] Oil-soaked birds were put in boxes and driven to the San Francisco Bay Oiled Wildlife Care and Education Center in Fairfield to be rehabilitated by University of California, Davis, veterinary medical students,^[17] and as of 2007-11-25, some birds were returned to the wild.

Aftermath

On 21 December 2007, the COSCO Busan sailed out of San Francisco Bay en route to South Korea with a new crew.^[18] Around the same time, the demolished Bay Bridge fender section was found 25 miles (40 km) south of Half Moon Bay,^{[citation needed]} and the fender was repaired at the Bay Bridge.^[19] The bar pilot who was operating the Busan at the time of the collision has since turned in his license and resigned from his position.

Prior spills

The SS Cape Mohican was the source of a 1996 spill of 40,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil^[16] in San Francisco Bay causing $3.625 million in natural resources damages.^[20][21]

See also

• Oil spill

References

External links

• Path of the COSCO Busan
• Cosco Busan Natural Resource Damage Assessment

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