Credit: Noah Braunstein. Over the weekend of October 2, crude oil from a pipeline rupture off the coast of Huntington Beach in Orange County began leaking into coastal waters, threatening wildlife and requiring an emergency cleanup effort of nearby beaches. Credit: Noah Braunstein. For miles near the location of the ruptured pipe near Huntington Beach, dozens of beaches like Corona del Mar were affected by the spill. Credit: Noah Braunstein. Parking lots normally filled with sunbathers and vacationers were occupied by white tents and command centers of beach cleanup workers. And on a three-day holiday weekend for many, Corona del Mar Beach was eerily empty.Credit: Noah Braunstein. At the entrance to the beach parking lots, messages inform that the water is currently closed.Credit: Noah Braunstein. This sunbather takes photos and watches the Corona del Mar beach cleanup unfold.Credit: Noah Braunstein. Signs warn that oil is affecting the water as emergency workers work tirelessly for hours. The cleanup continues nearly a week after oil began washing up on the beach.Credit: David Braunstein. Workers in hazmat suits use bags to pick up what has been washed away by the spill, including contaminated sand, algae and tar balls.Credit: Noah Braunstein. The work is painstakingly slow, as volunteers spend hours in the hot sun searching for oil fragments that could be harmful to local people and wildlife.Credit: Noah Braunstein. Each worker must carefully search each area for contaminants.Credit: Noah Braunstein. After nearly a week of cleaning, workers pause to catch their breath from this tedious but necessary work.Credit: Noah Braunstein. Groups of workers deploy in waves from the incident command center to designated areas of the beach, one section at a time.Credit: Noah Braunstein. Up and down the beach, workers' lime green vests populate the entire beach, which is normally packed with sunbathers.Credit: David Braunstein. Some of those on the beach are not concerned about the danger of the oiled and polluted waters of the area.Credit: Noah Braunstein. In the midst of the cleanup...there's a stark contrast between the relaxed swimmers in bathing suits and those dressed in protective suits to clean up the toxic substances spilled on the beach.Credit: David Braunstein. The cleanup efforts being undertaken alongside people trying to enjoy the outdoors underscore the need to be mindful of these kinds of environmental catastrophes, and how we can be better for the future.
Noah Braunstein is a contributing journalist for Peninsula 360 Press. He will study at San Francisco State University, majoring in Audiovisual Communication and Electronic Arts.
