There’s no exact science for determining whether or not it is safe to swim in the Gulf, but officials say it’s best to stay out of the water for now where oil-related health alerts are posted.

“Err on the side of caution and avoid contact,” said Keith Wilkins, deputy bureau chief of Escambia County Community and Environment, said this morning at a press conference at the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier. “My son went surfing yesterday east of Portrofino. His eyes were burning and he got tar on him.”

Escambia County Health Department issued a health notice earlier this week advising beachgoers to avoid oil-impacted waters from the pier west to the Pensacola Pass. Just after the press conference this morning, the health advisory was extended because of an increased presence of oil mousse and tar balls. The advisory now goes from the pier to the Florida/Alabama state line. It includes the Gulf Islands National Seashore and the Perdido Key State Park.

Pensacola Beach has red flags flying today because the surf is too high, as Hurricane Alex churns toward the Mexican coast.

Buck Lee, Santa Rosa Island Authority executive director, stressed today that Pensacola Beach has never been closed because of the oil spill — despite national media reports — and health advisories refer only to water.

Lee is at the beach every day to check conditions.

“I went swimming Saturday afternoon. It was fine,” he said. The advisories were posted since then, however.

Even if you can’t see tar balls or mousse, there may be oil residue in the water, Lee said.

Government agencies and other organizations are looking at science.
There is data for drinking water, for inhaling oil fumes, but swimming safety is not as clear. It’s risk vs. aesthetics and perception, Wilkins said.

There is a moderate oil smell today, though the odor seems to have little correlation to how much oil is on the beach or in the water. Wilkins said he smells it every morning. The inhalation levels monitored by EPA, which are for 8- to 10-hour periods, have not been exceeded.

What frustrates public officials is there is not a “nice red flag that pops up in the lab analysis that says ‘unhealthy for human contact,’” Wilkins said.

That’s why the health advisories are based on visual observations.

Still, there are water quality tests twice a week. Wilkins tests the water in the swim zone. There’s a two-day turnaround for results.

“If we had a way of sampling it in real time then we could say ‘no swimming.’ We don’t have that. We’re doing the best we can,” said Bob West, public safety director for SRIA.

Originally published by the Pensacola News Journal.