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Initial field testing of the slime, first
reported on Friday, came back negative for petroleum but
authorities hope a more comprehensive laboratory analysis will
provide some conclusive results, said Andrew Hughan, spokesman
for the California Department of Fish & Wildlife.
More than 100 birds, mostly ocean-going water fowl, have died
after their feathers became soaked in the colorless, odorless
goop, impairing their ability to insulate themselves from cold
and leading to hypothermia, Hughan said.
Rescue teams from two private volunteer groups have captured and
cleaned some 300 or more contaminated birds that they hope to
return to the wild, he said.
On Tuesday, sandpipers and other species of shore birds were
being found tainted by the substance, according to Rebecca
Dmytryk of Wildlife Emergency Services, one of the two rescue
groups.
"This has been incredibly difficult and taken a lot of time per
bird," she said.
The viscous substance was more obvious when it first appeared in
the bay late last week but the contamination of shore birds
suggests that the material has been slow to dissipate in the
environment, Hughan said.
“It was thick enough to see in the water for a few days and now
you can’t really see it unless you know where to look,” he said.
“It’s a real mystery. We’ve never seen anything like it and
neither have the bird rescuers.”
In some cases birds that appear to be in distress fly off before
they can be caught, leaving rescue teams unable to capture a
bird "unless it is really fouled," he said.
“We don’t expect more mortality from the rescued birds but many
more birds are out there that will die of exposure," he said.
"This issue has tremendous priority within the department.”
(This story was refiled to add byline)
(Editing by Steve Gorman and Bill Trott)
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