No single pollution incident during the year attracted as much public 

 attention and posed such urgent and complex technical problems as the 

 leakage of oil and gas from an offshore well near Santa Barbara, Calif. Be- 

 cause of this, and as an example of the national pollution contingency plan 

 in operation, an overview of the sequence of events follows : 



Calendar of events — 1969 : 



Jan. 28 Gas blowout occurred at about 5/2 miles from Santa 



Barbara. Coast Guard notified; initial eflForts made 

 by company to curb the flow. 



Jan. 29 12-mile-long thin slick south of platform, /2-square- 



mile heavy slick near well, use of chemical dis- 

 persants commenced. Efforts to curb flow unsuc- 

 cessful. District disaster control plan implemented 

 under commander. Coast Guard Group, Santa 

 Barbara, as on-scene commander. Meetings with 

 State, local, and Federal officials. 



Jan. 30 Slick spreading, but not to beaches. Oil booms acti- 

 vated at some locations. Application of low toxic- 

 ity chemical dispersants began. 



Jan. 31 First oil reached beaches. Commenced application 



of dispersants from boat equipped with booms. 

 Wildlife treatment center set up. 



Feb. 1 Oil reaching beaches, but still light; main slick 



thickly packed in a 1-mile triangle around well. 

 FWPCA ordered application of chemical stopped 

 due to possible toxicity. Additional tugs, barges, 

 and booms called in. 



Feb. 2 Drilling operations commenced to slant a relief well 



into the original hole. Efforts to contain the oil 

 by booms at the well failed due to heavy weather. 

 Oil on beaches continued light. 



Feb. 3 Recommended chemical dispersants. Different boom 



fabricated to contain the oil near the well. Use of 

 log booms, and of straw and other coagulants 

 started off beaches; additional inflatable booms 

 positioned in coastal areas. Beaches still essentially 

 clear of oil; heavy slick 2 miles off Santa Barbara 

 Harbor. 



Feb. 4 Weather deteriorating; crude oil arriving on beaches 



at Santa Barbara. 



Feb. 5 Attempts to seal well still unsuccessful. Weather 



stormy; efforts to contain oil at source suspended. 

 Beach cleanup attempts intensified. Chemical dis- 

 persant discontinued except in vicinity of well. 



Feb. 6 Weather continued bad; oil coming ashore heavier 



concentrations. 



Feb. 7 Well sealed off; weather moderated; beach cleanup 



expanded. 



Feb. 8 Flow ceased; most of oil already ashore, but some 



slicks still offshore, which soon dispersed to small 

 weathered patches. Beach cleanup continued. 



Feb. 12 Oil seepage started again; containment, skimming, 



and chemical dispersal resumed near well. Sub- 

 mersible survey of bottom near platform 

 unsuccessful. 



Feb. 16 Slick extending to within a mile of beach; much 



trapped in kelp beds. 



42 



