Metro Vancouver beaches safe for swimming following oil spill
Official says no oil was detected in the water, but some oil remains on rocks
All the Metro Vancouver beaches closed by a bunker fuel spill last month are officially open for the May long weekend and safe for swimming.
The beaches were closed in April after the grain ship MV Marathassa, spilled at least 2,800 litres of bunker fuel into Vancouver's English Bay.
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It also prompted health officials to ban recreational fishing of shellfish and ground fish in Burrard Inlet.
Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, a medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health, said water sample tests have come back with an undetectable level of hydrocarbons.
Therefore, the water by English Bay Beach, Sunset Beach, Second Beach and Third Beach in Vancouver, and by Sandy Cove, Dundarave, Whytecliff Park, Eagle Harbour, Ambleside Park and John Lawson Park in West Vancouver, are safe to swim in. Fishing has also been reopened.
"We never actually found a lot of oil in the water," Lysyshyn told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff.
"We did find some oil in the beach sediment on certain waterfront areas, and then we saw some oiling on rocks on the beach, but the water itself, we never actually found any oil in it, so people can definitely go in the water."
Lysyshyn says people should still be wary of oil on rocks and avoid contact.
To hear the full interview with Mark Lysyshyn, listen to the audio labelled: Metro Vancouver beaches safe to swim