For Immediate Release:

May 27, 2015

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has posted closure signs due to an oil spill affecting the area from 34th Street in Manhattan Beach, south to Longfellow Ave in Hermosa Beach. The source of the oil is currently under investigation.

Public Health officials are advising residents to avoid contact with the water, wet sand, and any materials washed up on shore in the area. Contact with oil may cause skin irritation and result in long-term health effects.

Beach users are advised to stay out of the water until the contaminated areas of the beach have been cleaned and the advisory is removed. Dry areas of the beach are not affected by this advisory.

Recorded information on beach conditions is available 24- hours a day on the County's beach advisory hotline: 1-800- 525-5662. Information is also available online at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/beach/.

The Department of Public Health is committed to protecting and improving the health of the nearly 10 million residents of Los Angeles County. Through a variety of programs, community partnerships and services, Public Health oversees environmental health, disease control, and community and family health. Public Health comprises nearly 4,000 employees and has an annual budget exceeding $900 million. To learn more about Public Health and the work we do please visit http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov, visit our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/lapublichealth, find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/lapublichealth, or follow us on Twitter: @LAPublicHealth.

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