Erika,(and fellow CONCH'l'ers)
 
          The beaches on the Oregon Coast are fine. Very little of the oil
escaped from the vessel and what did has already been cleaned up. You may
encounter a few small oil balls but I doubt it. We really dodged a bullet on
this one. The stern section of the ship is still beached by Coos Bay and will
be salvaged this summer at the owner's expense. The rest was hauled out
(after a couple of trys) 200 miles and sunk by the navy. It took over 75
shells and a 1.5 million dollar torpedo but they got the job done, the owner
gets that bill too.
 
So don't worry about our coast being trashed. We just had our annual beach
clean up day and hauled out many tons of beach litter. Enjoy yourself and
contact me if you need any more details.
 
Stephen McMahan
 
 
In a message dated 4/16/99 12:36:55 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
 
<< I am planning a visit with my family to the Oregon coast this summer,
 perhaps to stay near Yachats or Florence.
 
 Can anyone on the list tell me if the beaches are still fouled (and
 if so, how badly) by the breakup of the oil tanker? Or refer me to a
 real-life report (that is, not those by Chamber of Commerce or
 tourist/booster organizations) on the state of the beaches and
 wildlife in the area now? I knew the area well as a child, but
 haven't been back more than once in the last 10/12 years.
 
 Any help/suggestions would be most appreciated.
 
 Erika Gottfried
 Curator of Nonprint Materials
 Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives/Tamiment Library
 New York University
 70 Washington Square South
 New York, NY 10012
 Phone: 212-998-2635 >>