The Gunk appeared on the shores of Malibu to Redondo Beach: ghostly lines of charred black bits and melted debris left by retired waves.
It is a mixture of ash, sand and sprayed stains of wood and burned plastic, materials destroyed during January fires, then washed in the sea by recent rains.
The county beaches and ports department said last week that the stuff was “not dangerous for beach lovers or the environment”, based on the initial tests of samples taken from Will Rogers State Beach and Topanga Lagoon at the end of January.
The ministry also said that the sediments will not be withdrawn in the continuous county efforts to eliminate the fire debris from the shores.
“Trying to scratch it with rocks and sand could destroy marine habitats, erode shore and cause long -term environmental damage”, the department said in a press release. “Instead, natural tides and weather conditions will gradually decompose and eliminate sediments, allowing the ecosystem to recover naturally.”
The initial tests of the Department of Public Works have revealed that heavy metals, oil hydrocarbons, chlorinated pesticides, polychlorinated biphanol (PCB), volatile and semi-voltils organic compounds, and asbestos were lower than the levels that would characterize debris as hazardous waste.
The county still advises beach lovers to move away from visible fire debris. Local environmental groups have also urged caution.
“Risk tolerance is a deeply personal choice and at the moment, the limited data that has been shared have not identified concentrations of contaminants that have a health risk,” said Tracy Quinn, president of non -profit environmental health of the bay. “I will personally wait for additional laboratory results to be back before getting into the water between Santa Monica State beach and Dockweiler.”
The combination of fires last month and heavy rains that followed sent unprecedented quantities of ash, debris and chemical residues in the sea via the huge region Storm drains network And the rivers bordered by concrete.
The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board works with the county to test the ocean water near the areas affected by fires, which burned more than 40,000 acres in the Los Angeles region last month.
Unlike rural forest fires fueled by organic matter, Eaton palisades have consumed houses and businesses. The burnt remains of cars, plastics, batteries, household chemicals and other potentially toxic materials.
“I don't think there is a precedent for this type of contribution in the ocean ecosystem”, the marine biologist Noelle Bowlin said at the time.
At the end of January, County Public Health Managers judged that ocean water bordering on the beaches of Las Flores State beach in Malibu in Santa Monica State Beach, invoking concerns about potential toxic or carcinogenic chemicals in sand and water.
Even after the closures have been downgraded to the opinions, health officials warned the public to stay away from fire debris in the region, noting that flowing or accumulating on the sand could contain harmful substances.
A few days after the fire eruption, the ashes and the charred debris carried by the winds littered the ocean surface up to 100 miles offshore. The wind and the waves have since distributed charred equipment on the coastline of the county.
County agencies said the initial sediments were tested that the The beaches and port department has referred to was led by the Ministry of Public Works after January 26, when the region saw its first precipitation in nine months.
The water card said it provided in the coming weeks to test the dark sediments accumulate on the beaches for fire -related compounds such as heavy metals, PCBs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HAP).
The last two are endocrine disturbing chemicals associated with health problems in humans and fauna.
As part of its ocean surveillance efforts, the Board Water has already taken seawater samples on January 22, January 27, February 6 and February 18 to analyze heavy metals, bacteria, PCB and HAP.
“These are chemicals that we expect to see water runoff after a fire, based on our experience with previous fires in California,” said Jenny Newman, deputy director of Water Board during a town hall on February 18 organized by the Department of Public Health.
Although the data is not back from the most recent test date, the first three laps have shown lead levels lower than that lead, cadmium and other heavy metals, said the board of directors.
The samples have also returned with HAP levels and natural metals such as iron, manganese and selenium which were above water quality standards, said the board of directors. All are substances generally found in the runoff of forest fires, and the board of directors plans to see the levels decrease over time, said Newman.
Once the sediment test begins, “we are going to taste the beaches as far as where the black sand is observed,” said Newman. “We will share this data with the public when they are available.”
