A large swath of beach in Long Beach was closed Wednesday night after tar balls washed ashore.
The beach will be closed from 1st Place to 72nd Place until health and environmental concerns can be addressed, Long Beach Fire Department Public Information Officer Jake Heflin said.
Source testing is underway to determine if the tar balls are related to the oil spill north of Santa Barbara May 19. There is no indication the incident is related to any Long Beach Gas and Oil operations, Heflin said.
Long Beach residents are advised to keep off area beaches because of the possibility of unsafe conditions, Heflin said. Beach users are advised to avoid contact with oil tars washed ashore or found in the water. Contact with oil tars may cause skin irritation and long-term health effects.
All reports of oil debris should be made to the National Response Center hotline, (800) 424-8802.
The tar balls washing ashore in Long Beach comes two days after large globs of tar washed ashore in Zuma Beach. Nearly all beaches from El Segundo to Redondo Beach were closed last Wednesday through Friday because tar balls washed ashore.
— City News Service