LOCAL : Last Stretch of Beach Closed by Tanker Oil Spill Is Reopened

A public ban was lifted today on the last 1 1/2-mile stretch of Orange County shoreline closed after the tanker American Trader ruptured its hull last month, spilling 394,000 gallons of crude oil into the ocean off Huntington Beach.

A mid-afternoon ceremony was hastily arranged to mark the reopening of beach between Golden West Street in Huntington Beach and the main lifeguard headquarters at Bolsa Chica State Beach. The decision to lift the ban was made after a series of tests showed that levels of petroleum hydrocarbons were well below acceptable levels established by local and state health officials.

At one stage after the Feb. 7 tanker accident, more than 20 miles of county coastline was closed as the Alaskan crude formed a huge slick before washing ashore, blackening long stretches of shoreline. The cleanup force numbered nearly 1,500 at the height of the effort, but British Petroleum, which owned the spilled oil, said only about 30 workers remained on the job today.

Meanwhile, U.S. Coast Guard officials said preliminary results of its investigation into the accident about 1.3 miles southwest of Huntington Beach may be completed within two weeks. Authorities have said that one of the tanker’s anchors apparently gashed the forward hull, causing the spill.