THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 7, 1995 TAG: 9506070509
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BUXTON LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Red, itchy blisters have covered the bodies of at least a dozen Outer Banks surfers who swam through an oil spill near the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse last week.
``They're like big mosquito bites, swollen, on top of round, red rashes all over my stomach and chest and back and legs and stuff. They itch a ton. But when you scratch them, they burn real bad,'' 17-year-old Wayland Jennette said Tuesday night from his Buxton home. ``It's kind of a concern, for me. I really don't know what it is.''
Dr. Seaborn Blair, who runs Hatteras Island's only physician's office, didn't know what it was, either. Since oil globules washed ashore on this barrier island beach Thursday, the doctor said he has seen at least five surfers with similar symptoms. Whatever caused the blisters probably was in the waves, Blair said. But it also probably is gone.
``I can't be sure what they have. I may be wrong entirely. But my diagnosis, for now, is that they've got sea bathers eruption,'' Blair said Tuesday evening from his office in Hatteras Village. ``It's a common occurrence in northern climates. It can happen in North Carolina, too. When the water warms up real fast it triggers a bloom of a particular type of larvae. Plankton and crab larvae can cause it. They're microscopic organisms that emerge and you can't tell when the bloom happens.
``All the surfers that came in here said the ocean had warmed significantly in the past day or so before they got the rash,'' said the doctor. ``Their symptoms may be associated with tar or oil in the water. But I don't think so. It's not coincidental that they got it the same time they oil came ashore. The same waves and weather that brought the oil probably brought the larvae and organisms in.
``Whatever it was, it's probably come and gone by now. It's OK to be in the ocean. But it may happen again.''
Thursday morning, National Park Service rangers at the Buxton beacon noticed thick globs of oil and tar littering the beach. The semi-solid balls ranged from dime-sized to softball-sized, officials said. The U.S. Coast Guard called an environmental cleanup company to help.
``We sent in a four-man crew that worked about six hours. They filled a 55-gallon drum with the tar balls from that beach,'' said Craig Childres, chief operations officer for REMAC USA Inc., an environmental oil spill response company with an office in Hampton. ``Basically, the tar was scattered from the lighthouse one mile south along the beach. It was a sludgy-type material. If you squeezed the globs, they'd squish.
``It looked to me like
Cleaning up the oil cost taxpayers about $2,500, said U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Mike Rosecrans of the Marine Safety Office, Hampton Roads. Officials plan to send samples of the tar balls to a marine safety laboratory in Connecticut for tests. Results could be ready within two weeks, Rosecrans said.
``We don't know where it came from or what it is or how long it's been there,'' Rosecrans said Tuesday from his Norfolk office. ``We presume it's from a ship. But we can't tell for sure.
``Any hydrocarbons - even oil - can cause dermatitis or red skin rash reactions if you come in contact with them.''
Surfers swimming through the floating tar balls on Thursday said they did not know what caused their itchy sores. But the rashes showed up within 24 hours of bobbing through the tar-littered breakers by the lighthouse. And that worries the surfers.
``It's not normal. I've never heard of anyone getting all swollen from being in the water out here. I've lived here 21 years and I've never seen anything like this before,'' said Russell Blackwood, a surfer and underwater photographer from Buxton. ``The water all around that oil was so clear and blue. That's what made it especially strange. It's disturbing. Some guys are still sick - and it's been almost a week.''
Jason Andre, 15, and his dad, Keith, visited Dr. Blair together Tuesday. Both are covered with sores. Their lymph nodes also are extremely swollen.
``I still got the rash. I'm itching all over. And those little red bumps are everywhere,'' Andre said Tuesday night. ``They've been here since Friday. My dad's are even worse. It was caused by something in the water I know. It's scary - not knowing what's out there in the water.'' by CNB