Oil Spill

Lolita Harper Periodic beach closures are nothing new along the Newport Beach coast but none compare to the massive disaster of the 1990 American Trader oil spill. The American Trader tanker that ran aground Feb. 7, 1990, caused the worst spill in Orange County history, coating the beaches of Newport and Huntington with thick, slick crude oil. The oil tanker was reported to have run over its anchor, puncturing its hull and spilling an estimated 416,598 gallons of crude oil. Dozens of workers dressed in hazardous material suits lined the coast, trying valiantly to skim the oil from the surface of the water and save thousands of birds.

A hair salon in Newport Beach is helping to clean up the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, one haircut at a time. All of the clippings that stylists sweep from the floor at Hair West Salon, 2817 Villa Way, in Cannery Village, are shipped to a nonprofit group that uses the hair to make sausage-shaped booms and square pads that sop up oil from industrial spills. Oil clings to human and animal hair because of their porous texture, but the oil is not absorbed. This makes hair an ideal material to clean up oil spills.

Noaki Schwartz NEWPORT BEACH -- The American Trader Trustee Council began discussions this week on precisely how a $16-million oil spill settlement will be distributed among the four government agencies most affected by the disaster. "I am so glad this long process is finally reaching an end. It's taken a lot of people and a lot of hours to get to this point now," said Councilwoman Jan Debay, who represents Newport Beach on the panel. The American Trader oil tanker punctured its hull on Feb. 7, 1990, spilling more than 400,000 gallons of oil off the coast of Huntington Beach.

Cleaning up a January oil spill in Huntington Beach cost Orange County about $1.5 million, but the county expects to be fully repaid. The Jan. 22 spill that released an estimated 672 gallons of oil into a flood control channel was quickly contained and did not reach surrounding wetlands or the ocean, but did contaminate 1.8 miles of the channel between Adams Avenue and Magnolia Street and about 0.3 miles of underground storm drains, according to...

With seven active oil platforms off its coast, Orange County has the potential for a devastating leak similar to the one caused by an explosion last month in the Gulf of Mexico. Located off the coasts of Huntington Beach and Seal Beach, the platforms are operated by three oil exploration companies: Pacific Energy Resources, a Long Beach company that recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; Aera Energy, a Bakersfield corporation; and DCOR, a Ventura-based company. If one of the platforms were to leak, the U.S. Coast Guard would be the lead agency to respond, according to Lt. Anastacia Thorsson.

The oil spill from the American Trader tanker in 1990 left Newport and Huntington beaches and their habitats in ruins. The 400,000-gallon spill remains the worst environmental disaster in Orange County history. Earlier this month, Newport Beach officials received a residual, if you will, of $786,000 from the oil-spill agreement that will be used toward building a $3.4-million boardwalk along the Back Bay's western edge. We can't think of a better beneficiary for that money than an environmental project and the Back Bay boardwalk sounds like a great idea.

It's only appropriate that residents near Corona del Mar State Beach have a say in what improvements Newport Beach officials make to the beach. After all, they're the ones who live in the popular tourist and strolling area and have to deal with the facilities 365 days a year. But just because residents have the option to speak their minds doesn't mean they will. The 1st Amendment means a lot around here, though, and we believe residents would be remiss if they failed to take advantage of this opportunity.

GOP presidential hopeful John McCain recently said he supports offshore oil drilling to try to lower the rising price of gas. For many years, most Californians have generally opposed offshore drilling because of the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, so it was surprising that the Arizona senator announced his support there. Where do you stand on the issue of offshore drilling and why?   For national security and economic reasons, it’s better to produce our own oil domestically than to send our money overseas where it often ends up in the hands of desert despots.

This week’s column is the second part of my response to the discussion from the tsunami advisory issued from the devastating earthquake last month off the coast of Chile. As a reminder the seismic activity did prompt a tsunami advisory by the West Coast Tsunami Center, which was not a warning. However, a later and inaccurate tsunami notice, which did not come from the center, reported that larger swells were heading our way. This may have been misguided information meant for the Hawaii.

Alex Coolman NEWPORT BEACH -- Last week, it took just a gallon of diesel fuel to foul half a mile of harbor waters here and ground seven birds with grimy feathers. In April, a few gallons more nearly killed "Sir Swany," a friendly black-necked swan who's a favorite with many locals. These spills were small-scale pleasure boat accidents, a far cry from a mega-disaster, such as 1990's 400,000-gallon American Trader oil spill off Huntington Beach. But even if a spill is small, it can still have serious consequences.

When the Deepwater Horizon exploded in 2010, sending millions of barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, most scientists were concerned about the damage to sea life. Not many gave a whiff of thought to air quality. The Rowland-Blake Group at UC Irvine was an exception. Student researchers from this group deployed to the gulf, rented a Forrest Gump-like boat and started analyzing air samples. By measuring certain gases, they found that the air was dirtier than in Los Angeles or Mexico City.

With seven active oil platforms off its coast, Orange County has the potential for a devastating leak similar to the one caused by an explosion last month in the Gulf of Mexico. Located off the coasts of Huntington Beach and Seal Beach, the platforms are operated by three oil exploration companies: Pacific Energy Resources, a Long Beach company that recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; Aera Energy, a Bakersfield corporation; and DCOR, a Ventura-based company. If one of the platforms were to leak, the U.S. Coast Guard would be the lead agency to respond, according to Lt. Anastacia Thorsson.

A hair salon in Newport Beach is helping to clean up the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, one haircut at a time. All of the clippings that stylists sweep from the floor at Hair West Salon, 2817 Villa Way, in Cannery Village, are shipped to a nonprofit group that uses the hair to make sausage-shaped booms and square pads that sop up oil from industrial spills. Oil clings to human and animal hair because of their porous texture, but the oil is not absorbed. This makes hair an ideal material to clean up oil spills.

Cleaning up a January oil spill in Huntington Beach cost Orange County about $1.5 million, but the county expects to be fully repaid. The Jan. 22 spill that released an estimated 672 gallons of oil into a flood control channel was quickly contained and did not reach surrounding wetlands or the ocean, but did contaminate 1.8 miles of the channel between Adams Avenue and Magnolia Street and about 0.3 miles of underground storm drains, according to...

This week’s column is the second part of my response to the discussion from the tsunami advisory issued from the devastating earthquake last month off the coast of Chile. As a reminder the seismic activity did prompt a tsunami advisory by the West Coast Tsunami Center, which was not a warning. However, a later and inaccurate tsunami notice, which did not come from the center, reported that larger swells were heading our way. This may have been misguided information meant for the Hawaii.

GOP presidential hopeful John McCain recently said he supports offshore oil drilling to try to lower the rising price of gas. For many years, most Californians have generally opposed offshore drilling because of the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, so it was surprising that the Arizona senator announced his support there. Where do you stand on the issue of offshore drilling and why?   For national security and economic reasons, it’s better to produce our own oil domestically than to send our money overseas where it often ends up in the hands of desert despots.

We may not see it for some time, but the adverse effects on coastal marine life resulting from last month’s onslaught of wildfires could be substantial. Marine biology students at OCC have documented a trend in the lowering levels of plankton off the Orange and south Los Angeles county coasts since blazes broke out Oct. 21 between Santa Barbara and San Diego. “We’re trying to figure out what the fires did to our offshore waters,” said Dennis Kelly, a marine biology instructor at the Costa Mesa community college.

Think you have it tough? Try being a pelican. If it's not one thing, it's another. As if being run over by boats isn't enough, there's fishing line, fishhooks, plastic bags, Styrofoam cups and worst of all, the idiots who are deliberately trying to hurt you or even kill you. It's a jungle out there. Okay, it's an ocean out there, which is like a jungle, only wetter. I like pelicans. They're pretty, in a goofy sort of way, and their bodies and giant beaks are engineering marvels.

Luis Pena The Ticonderoga, which made Newport Beach its home in the late '80s, is just one of 43 paintings being displayed beginning Saturday at the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum. The Maritime Paintings of Caleb Whitbeck comprise part of the museum's Fine Art series. The only nautical museum in Orange County brings exhibits that represent the local area and the nautical heritage of the West Coast. The Whitbeck exhibit will be the first full display of his work in Southern California, said Glen Zagoren, chief executive of the museum.

Lolita Harper Periodic beach closures are nothing new along the Newport Beach coast but none compare to the massive disaster of the 1990 American Trader oil spill. The American Trader tanker that ran aground Feb. 7, 1990, caused the worst spill in Orange County history, coating the beaches of Newport and Huntington with thick, slick crude oil. The oil tanker was reported to have run over its anchor, puncturing its hull and spilling an estimated 416,598 gallons of crude oil. Dozens of workers dressed in hazardous material suits lined the coast, trying valiantly to skim the oil from the surface of the water and save thousands of birds.