With more than 500 birds now identified as coated in the mystery goo first seen in the San Francisco Bay area of California in mid-January, officials are still unsure what the substance is, or where it came from.
Over 300 birds have been taken to the International Bird Rescue rehabilitation facility in northern California. Of the more than 250 still alive, approximately 150 have been washed. Rescue teams have found an additional 200+ dead birds in the area with the mystery product on them.
State and local wildlife agencies continue to try to identify the material but have now ruled out polyisobutylene (PIB) as the culprit. PIB was suspected due to the similarity of this substance with that which killed thousands of birds in Europe in recent years. Petroleum products were ruled out within a few days of the incident.
In addition to the lack of information about the substance, International Bird Rescue and other NGOs which are helping out are not getting financial support for this response, in contrast to the situation when oil is involved. After the US Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA90) was put in force, California became one of the first states to impose a tax on oil being transported through the state for oil spill response. This provided funding for response, including oiled wildlife response, should the spiller not be identified. When a spiller is identified, the spiller pays rule comes in force.
The regulations are restricted to spillage of petroleum products, which means the funds cannot be accessed in a situation such as this. State agencies, including the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, are providing whatever assistance they can, some volunteering with Bird Rescue on the response. Should the spiller ever be identified, they would bear the cost of the response.
Resources:
No emergency response plan for mysterious material.PowerSource. accessed online 25 January 2015
Mysterious gray goo has killed more than 200 San Francisco Bay birds.The Washington Post.accessed online 25 January 2015