Polluted harbor can't be cleaned
By Johnna Walker
Daily Forty-Niner
As they import and export consumer goods,
ships from across the world stop in the Port of Los Angeles. And they leave
more than approved cargo behind.
The U.S. Coast Guard's Pollution Response
Unit averages seven to 10 fuel spills a week at the port, many so small
that officials cannot effectively clean them. Careless fueling allows tanks
to overflow. Engine oil mixes with bilge water and is pumped into the sea.
Poor maintenance of vessels can lead not only to fuel leaking into harbor
waters, but other chemicals as well such as anti-freeze.
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Cristian Vera
Aleman/Daily Forty-Niner
This debris may have come from
as far away as the San Fernando Valley. |
Then there are hundreds of vessels that
use two-cylinder engines, which releases 30 percent of the fuel passing
through them into the water unburned, according to an official with the
state department of boating and waterways.
"Anytime there is a harbor that has a major
city like Long Beach or Los Angeles," said Donald Maurer, professor of
biological sciences at CSULB, "there's going to be a chronic level of pollution
in those waters."
There is, and Mark Stephensâ job
is to do something about it.
The Coast Guard chief petty officer, a
marine science technician, said many fuel spills are like one that occurred
in January. Two gallons of diesel wound up in port waters; less than a
gallon, according to the incident report, was recovered.
"Most of the spills are around that size,"
Stephens said. "But that does add up to a fair amount of accumulated fuel."
Usually, Stephens said, the Coast Guard
does not try to recover spills estimated at less than three gallons because
it's so difficult to do.
The Coast Guard cleans up fuel spills most
commonly by throwing absorbent materials on them. Some spilled fuel will
evaporate; the rest will go out to sea if it is not quickly cleaned.
"You've got people out there who don't
even know their boat is leaking fuel, or whatever else," Stephens said.
"Oil spreads out so quickly. If you donât catch it in a hurry, then
you have to run around and pick it up." |
