AFP UK

Germany’s Benjamin List and David MacMillan of the United States on Wednesday won the Nobel Chemistry Prize for their development of a precise new tool for molecular construction which has helped make chemistry greener, the jury said.

The duo was awarded “for their development of a precise new tool for molecular construction: organocatalysis. This has had a great impact on pharmaceutical research, and has made chemistry greener,” the Nobel Committee said.

Prior to their work, scientists believed there were only two types of catalysts, metals and enzymes.

In 2000, the researchers, working independently of each other, developed a third type, called “asymmetric organocatalysis”, which relies on small organic molecules.

List and MacMillan, both 53, will share the 10-million-kronor ($1.1-million, one-million-euro) prize.

“I thought somebody was making a joke. I was sitting at breakfast with my wife,” List told reporters by telephone during a press conference after the prize was announced.

He added that usually when the prize is announced, his wife jokes that he should keep an eye on his phone for a call from Sweden.

“But today we didn’t even make the joke,” List said.

“It’s hard to describe what you feel in that moment but it was a very special moment that I will never forget,” List said.

MacMillan is a professor at Princeton University in the US, while List is a director at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. 

“Many research areas and industries are dependent on chemists’ ability to construct molecules that can form elastic and durable materials, store energy in batteries or inhibit the progression of disease,” the Nobel committee at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement.

“This work requires catalysts, which are substances that control and accelerate chemical reactions, without becoming part of the final product,” it added.

– Wide-open field –

List was the first to prove that the amino acid proline could drive an aldol reaction, which is when carbon atoms from two different molecules are bonded together.

“Compared to both metals and enzymes, proline is a dream tool for chemists. It is a very simple, cheap and environmentally friendly molecule,” the Academy said.

Ahead of this year’s announcement, analysts said the field was wide open.

According to Clarivate, which maintains a list of potential Nobel Prize winners, more than 70 researchers had what it takes to be considered for the prize in chemistry, given the thousands of citations they have received in scientific papers.

Thought to be among the favourites for the medicine prize that was announced on Monday, the pioneers of the Covid-19 mRNA vaccines, Hungarian biochemist Katalin Kariko and US immunologist Drew Weissman, were also seen as potential candidates for chemistry .

But many experts also that it is a little too early for the generally cautious Nobel Committees to give the nod.

Last year, the Nobel went to Frenchwoman Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer Doudna, for developing the gene-editing technique known as CRISPR-Cas9 — DNA snipping “scissors”.

The Nobel season continues with the two most closely watched prizes, literature on Thursday and peace on Friday. The winner of the economics prize will be announced on Monday.

The medicine prize kicked off the 2021 Nobel season on Monday, going to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for breakthroughs that paved the way for the treatment of chronic pain.

The physics prize followed Tuesday, when half was awarded to US-Japanese scientist Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann for climate models, and the other half to Italy’s Giorgio Parisi for work on the theory of disordered materials and random processes.

Germany’s Benjamin List and David MacMillan of the United States on Wednesday won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their development of a precise new tool for molecular construction, the jury said.

The duo was awarded “for their development of a precise new tool for molecular construction: organocatalysis. This has had a great impact on pharmaceutical research, and has made chemistry greener,” the Nobel Committee said.

List and MacMillan, both 53, will share the 10-million-kronor ($1.1-million, one-million-euro) prize.

MacMillan is a professor at Princeton University in the US, while List is a director at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. 

“Many research areas and industries are dependent on chemists’ ability to construct molecules that can form elastic and durable materials, store energy in batteries or inhibit the progression of disease,” the Nobel Committee at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement.

“This work requires catalysts, which are substances that control and accelerate chemical reactions, without becoming part of the final product,” it added, noting that prior to the work of the laureates, scientists believed there were only two types of catalysts, metals and enzymes.

In 2000, the researchers, working independently of each other, developed a third type, called “asymmetric organocatalysis”, which relies on small organic molecules.

Ahead of this year’s announcement, analysts said the field was wide open.

According to Clarivate, which maintains a list of potential Nobel Prize winners, more than 70 researchers had what it takes to be considered for the prize in chemistry, given the thousands of citations they have received in scientific papers.

Last year, the Nobel went to Frenchwoman Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer Doudna, for developing the gene-editing technique known as CRISPR-Cas9 — DNA snipping “scissors”.

The Nobel season continues on Thursday with the much-anticipated prize for literature and with peace on Friday before the economics prize winds things up on Monday, October 11.

Spain’s untapped rare earths are stoking tensions between mining companies and environmentalists and farmers who fear the devastating impact from extracting the minerals considered as essential for a high-tech and low-carbon economy.

The group of 17 minerals are — despite their name — widely distributed across the globe, but exist in such thin concentrations that extracting even small quantities requires the processing of enormous quantities of ore.

Still, they are key ingredients in a range of high-tech and cutting-edge products, from wind turbines and electric vehicles to smart phones, medical devices and missile-guidance systems.

With China having a stranglehold on global supply and demand surging to meet the transition to a low-carbon economy, the political pressure — and financial incentive — to put strategic interests ahead of the environment is growing.

“Spain has the largest amount of rare earths in Europe after Finland. There is real potential,” said Vicente Gutierrez Peinador, president of the National Confederation of Mining and Metallurgy Companies (Confedem). 

Ninety-eight percent of the rare earths used in the EU are imported from China, prompting Brussels to recently urge member states to develop their own extraction capacities.

Spain’s reserves are estimated at 70,000 tonnes, according to the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain. 

“On a global level this is not much, but on a European scale it is significant,” said Roberto Martinez, head of mineral resources at the institute. 

– ‘Opportunity for Spain’ –

And it is enough to arouse the interest of investors as demand for the minerals continues to surge.

“It is an opportunity for Spain,” said Confedem’s Peinador, but also “for Europe”.

“Two sites in particular are considered interesting: one in Monte Galineiro, in Galicia,” and the other in the province of Ciudad Real, in the Castilla y Leon region, said Martinez. 

Only the 240-hectare (590-acre) Matamulas site in Ciudad Real has so far been the subject of an application to mine. 

The site is rich in monazite — an ore containing rare earth minerals including thorium, lanthanum and cerium.

However, the project has been blocked: the region refused the mining permit filed by Madrid-based Quantum Mineria in 2019 due to concerns about its environmental impact. 

“This deposit is located in an area of great environmental value”, between two protected areas, said Elena Solis, coordinator for mining issues of the NGO Ecologists in Action.

It would involve “moving an astronomical amount of earth, which would put the whole area at risk”, said Solis, who also pointed to the “enormous amount of water” needed for this operation and the risk of pollution by toxic or even radioactive dust. 

– Holes filled in – 

These arguments were rejected by the company, which lodged a legal appeal.

The refusal of the permit “is incomprehensible” because “we are in a territory considered suitable for mining” by the administration, said Enrique Burkhalter, project director of Quantum Mineria, who denounced “unfounded fears” around the proposal. 

According to the company, the extraction would take place on the surface, using a technique that limits the risk of toxic dust: the earth would be transported by truck to a factory, then sieved and finally returned to the site, once the minerals have been removed. 

“It is not an open pit… The holes would be quickly filled in so that the crops could be cultivated again,” said Burkhalter.

These arguments are in turn rejected by Ecologists in Action, which believes that the land concerned will be permanently affected.

What will the courts say? 

Beyond their differences, industrialists and environmentalists agree on the importance of the court’s decision, which could make or break the extraction projects. 

The ruling, expected in several months’ time, will be “important” but “will not put an end to the debate”, said Martinez, who pointed to a paradox inherent in mining: “On paper, everyone wants to reduce external dependence, but as soon as we talk about concrete projects, it’s a different matter.”

Breakthroughs in DNA sequencing, innovative gas storage, nanocrystals or a second chance for mRNA Covid-19 vaccines? Speculators on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry are spoiled for choice ahead of the announcement on Wednesday. 

The winner — or winners — of the prestigious prize will be unveiled at 11:45 am (0945 GMT) “at the earliest” in Stockholm.  

Thought to be among the favourites for the medicine prize that was announced on Monday, the pioneers of the Covid-19 mRNA vaccines could see their work instead snatching the chemistry category.

Hungarian biochemist Katalin Kariko and US immunologist Drew Weissman — whose work served as a basis for the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines — have a second chance on Wednesday, according to Swedish and international experts interviewed by AFP. 

Potentially, they could be honoured alongside Canada’s Pieter Cullis, another mRNA expert.

With well over one billion people worldwide having received a dose of vaccines based on the technology, its “benefit to humankind” is hardly in doubt.

But many experts feel that it is a little too early for the generally cautious Nobel Assembly to give the nod.

– Plethora of candidates –

According to Clarivate, which maintains a list of potential Nobel Prize winners, more than 70 researchers have what it takes to be considered for the prize in chemistry, given the thousands of citations they have received in scientific papers.

Last year, the honour went to Frenchwoman Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer Doudna, for developing the gene-editing technique known as CRISPR-Cas9 — DNA snipping “scissors”.

Another medicine-related discovery that could be rewarded in chemistry is that of tissue engineering, with the American trio, Cato Laurencin, Kristi Anseth, and Robert Langer. 

The latter is known for developing technologies that allow the delivery of drugs directly to diseased tissues without the use of needles or other invasive measures.

And then there is the modern sequencing of DNA, which has dramatically reduced the time and financial costs of mapping genomes.

Americans Marvin Caruthers, Leroy Hood and Michael Hunkapiller are considered pioneers in the field.

But the Nobel Committee could also follow in the footsteps of its new rival, the Breakthrough Prize, which was last month awarded to Pascal Mayer of France and Shankar Balasubramanian and David Klenerman of Britain for DNA sequencing.

One man is also in a position to achieve the rare feat of grabbing a second Nobel, last managed by Britain’s Frederick Sanger in 1980. Not counting organisations, only four people have done so, starting with Polish-born Frenchwoman Marie Curie.

– ‘Click’ chemistry –

According to Clarivate, the American Barry Sharpless, co-winner of the chemistry prize in 2001, could once again be awarded the prize for “click” chemistry, a term he coined which refers to the use of molecules that are easily joined together. Fellow American Carolyn Bertozzi also excels in the field.

On the materials side, South Korea’s Taeghwan Hyeon, the French-Tunisian American Moungi Bawendi and Canadian Christopher Murray could win the prize for their work on nanocrystals.

Japan’s Susumu Kitagawa and Makoto Fujita and American-Jordanian Omar Yaghi are also in the running, considered to be pioneers of metal-organic frameworks which allow for the storage of large quantities of gas without requiring high pressure.

Another possible choice often mentioned by forecasters is Britain’s Barry Halliwell for his work on free radicals, highly reactive and unstable molecules, and their roles in biological systems.

The Nobel season continues with the two most closely watched prizes, literature on Thursday and peace on Friday. The winner of the economics prize will be announced on Monday.

The medicine prize kicked off the 2021 Nobel season on Monday, going to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for breakthroughs that paved the way for the treatment of chronic pain.

The physics prize followed Tuesday, when half was awarded to US-Japanese scientist Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann for climate models, and the other half to Italy’s Giorgio Parisi for work on the theory of disordered materials and random processes.

Breakthroughs in DNA sequencing, innovative gas storage, nanocrystals or a second chance for mRNA Covid-19 vaccines? Speculators on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry are spoiled for choice ahead of the announcement on Wednesday. 

The winner — or winners — of the prestigious prize will be unveiled at 11:45 am (0945 GMT) “at the earliest” in Stockholm.  

Thought to be among the favourites for the medicine prize that was announced on Monday, the pioneers of the Covid-19 mRNA vaccines could see their work instead snatching the chemistry category.

Hungarian biochemist Katalin Kariko and US immunologist Drew Weissman — whose work served as a basis for the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines — have a second chance on Wednesday, according to Swedish and international experts interviewed by AFP. 

Potentially, they could be honoured alongside Canada’s Pieter Cullis, another mRNA expert.

With well over one billion people worldwide having received a dose of vaccines based on the technology, its “benefit to humankind” is hardly in doubt.

But many experts feel that it is a little too early for the generally cautious Nobel Assembly to give the nod.

– Plethora of candidates –

According to Clarivate, which maintains a list of potential Nobel Prize winners, more than 70 researchers have what it takes to be considered for the prize in chemistry, given the thousands of citations they have received in scientific papers.

Last year, the honour went to Frenchwoman Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer Doudna, for developing the gene-editing technique known as CRISPR-Cas9 — DNA snipping “scissors”.

Another medicine-related discovery that could be rewarded in chemistry is that of tissue engineering, with the American trio, Cato Laurencin, Kristi Anseth, and Robert Langer. 

The latter is known for developing technologies that allow the delivery of drugs directly to diseased tissues without the use of needles or other invasive measures.

And then there is the modern sequencing of DNA, which has dramatically reduced the time and financial costs of mapping genomes.

Americans Marvin Caruthers, Leroy Hood and Michael Hunkapiller are considered pioneers in the field.

But the Nobel Committee could also follow in the footsteps of its new rival, the Breakthrough Prize, which was last month awarded to Pascal Mayer of France and Shankar Balasubramanian and David Klenerman of Britain for DNA sequencing.

One man is also in a position to achieve the rare feat of grabbing a second Nobel, last managed by Britain’s Frederick Sanger in 1980. Not counting organisations, only four people have done so, starting with Polish-born Frenchwoman Marie Curie.

– ‘Click’ chemistry –

According to Clarivate, the American Barry Sharpless, co-winner of the chemistry prize in 2001, could once again be awarded the prize for “click” chemistry, a term he coined which refers to the use of molecules that are easily joined together. Fellow American Carolyn Bertozzi also excels in the field.

On the materials side, South Korea’s Taeghwan Hyeon, the French-Tunisian American Moungi Bawendi and Canadian Christopher Murray could win the prize for their work on nanocrystals.

Japan’s Susumu Kitagawa and Makoto Fujita and American-Jordanian Omar Yaghi are also in the running, considered to be pioneers of metal-organic frameworks which allow for the storage of large quantities of gas without requiring high pressure.

Another possible choice often mentioned by forecasters is Britain’s Barry Halliwell for his work on free radicals, highly reactive and unstable molecules, and their roles in biological systems.

The Nobel season continues with the two most closely watched prizes, literature on Thursday and peace on Friday. The winner of the economics prize will be announced on Monday.

The medicine prize kicked off the 2021 Nobel season on Monday, going to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for breakthroughs that paved the way for the treatment of chronic pain.

The physics prize followed Tuesday, when half was awarded to US-Japanese scientist Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann for climate models, and the other half to Italy’s Giorgio Parisi for work on the theory of disordered materials and random processes.

Extinction Rebellion climate activists burst onto the catwalk at Louis Vuitton’s Tuesday Paris Fashion Week show to blast the industry’s impact on the environment.

“Overconsumption = extinction”, a banner brandished by one demonstrator from the international civil disobedience movement against climate change read.

She climbed onto the catwalk set up in the Louvre art gallery even as models were showing off the latest styles, before being hustled away by security guards, an AFP photographer saw.

Extinction Rebellion, Friends of the Earth and Youth For Climate said in a statement that around 30 people were involved in planning the protest, with two arrested.

They called on the government to enforce “an immediate cut in production levels in the sector, given that 42 items of clothing were sold per person in France in 2019”.

Louis Vuitton did not immediately comment on the incident when contacted by AFP.

From the boutiques of Christian Dior to royal wedding favours, jute is growing in popularity worldwide as demand for alternatives to plastic soars, with experts predicting the bag industry alone will be worth more than $3 billion by 2024. 

India is desperate to capitalise on this consumer shift and seize the opportunity to revive its flagging industry, expanding it from sacks and gunny bags to fashion.

Also known as sack cloth, hessian, or burlap, the fibre is hailed by environmentalists because growing it can help with carbon capture, and it uses less natural resources than cotton. 

“One hectare of jute plant can soak up to nearly 15 tonnes of carbon-dioxide and discharge 11 tonnes of oxygen during a season, thereby reducing greenhouse effects,” estimated Swati Singh Sambyal, a sustainability and circular economy expert based in New Delhi.

She added that production takes about only four months and requires “minimal water and fertiliser” compared to cotton.

During British rule, the jute industry was a key part of India’s economy and the fabric was exported worldwide but by the 1990s it was struggling, unable to compete with cheaper synthetic substitutes and lower production costs of farmers in neighbouring Bangladesh. 

Today India is trying to promote jute as a fabric for a sustainable future, with the government issuing a mandate that all grains and 20 percent of sugar should be packed in jute sacks.

Leading homegrown designers such as Ashish Soni and Pawan Aswani also use jute blends for their fashion lines.

But critics warn the country’s rundown mills and outdated farming practices do not match up with such grand ambitions.  

– Billion dollar industry –

“India can cater to global demand but for that two things are needed: upgrading the skills of the people…to produce different types of products and upgrading the machinery,” said Gouranga Kar, who heads the Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres.

There are around 70 jute factories in West Bengal state, some of which were set up in the 19th century mainly to produce coarse sacks for packing coffee and food grains, but there has been little change to machinery and production methods since.

At Meghna Jute Mills hundreds of barefoot workers labour in a vast dingy hall covered in fine, fibrous dust across eight-hour shifts, 24 hours a day. 

“Jute has a potentially huge international market” said company president Supriya Das, as noisy machines rolled out long strands of shimmery yarn behind him. 

“If the machines are high-tech we can produce good yarn. For diversified end use, the quality of the fibre has to improve. The industry won’t be viable unless we introduce value-added products like decorative items and rugs.”

Nearly all of the world’s jute is grown in this region or in Bangladesh, because of the conducive humid climate and availability of cheap labour.

According to a recent report by Research and Markets, the global jute bag market reached a value of $2.07 billion in 2020 and is projected to touch $3.1 billion by 2024 as consumers look for alternatives to single use plastic. 

The material’s appeal has been boosted by brands such as Dior making jute sandals and stars such as the Duchess of Sussex wearing jute footwear and using hessian gift bags for guests attending her wedding to Prince Harry. 

– Drowning in plastic pollution –

Kar said India should seize the opportunity to invest in its industry and make diverse jute-based products such as rugs, lamps, shoes and shopping bags.

India’s scientists have developed high yielding varieties of jute to tap this renewed interest, Kar explained, but unskilled labour and outdated farming practices meant this had yet to translate into economic returns. 

“This is a major cause of concern for us,” he added. 

The coronavirus pandemic has also thwarted hopes of restoring the lost glory of the industry — several mills have shut down and lockdowns have caused labour and raw material shortages. 

Environmentalists insist jute has vast economic and green potential, particularly as consumers voice concerns about fast fashion and more countries introduce legislation to ban single-use plastic.

Every part of the jute plant can be used: the outer layer for the fibre, the woody stem for paper pulp, and the leaves can be cooked and eaten, Sambyal explained. 

The UN Environment Programme has said the planet is “drowning in plastic pollution”, with about 300 million tonnes of plastic waste produced every year.

India generates 3.3 million metric tonnes of plastic waste annually, according to a report in 2018-19 by the Central Pollution Control Board. 

Back at Meghna Mills, factory bosses are hopeful that if authorities invest, they can rebrand and reboot jute for the 21st century.

Das said: “Jute has a great future. It can bring a lot of valuable foreign exchange to the country so the government must focus on this sector.”

Singapore has trialled patrol robots that blast warnings at people engaging in “undesirable social behaviour”, adding to an arsenal of surveillance technology in the tightly controlled city-state that is fuelling privacy concerns.

From vast numbers of CCTV cameras to trials of lampposts kitted out with facial recognition tech, Singapore is seeing an explosion of tools to track its inhabitants.

Officials have long pushed a vision of a hyper-efficient, tech-driven “smart nation”, but activists say privacy is being sacrificed and people have little control over what happens to their data.

Singapore is frequently criticised for curbing civil liberties and people are accustomed to tight controls, but there is still growing unease at intrusive tech.

The government’s latest surveillance devices are robots on wheels, with seven cameras, that issue warnings to the public and detect “undesirable social behaviour”.

This includes smoking in prohibited areas, improperly parking bicycles, and breaching coronavirus social-distancing rules.

During a recent patrol, one of the “Xavier” robots wove its way through a housing estate and stopped in front of a group of elderly residents watching a chess match.

“Please keep one-metre distancing, please keep to five persons per group,” a robotic voice blared out, as a camera on top of the machine trained its gaze on them.

During a three-week trial in September, two robots were deployed to patrol the housing estate and a shopping centre.

“It reminds me of Robocop,” said Frannie Teo, a 34-year-old research assistant, who was walking through the mall.

It brings to mind a “dystopian world of robots… I’m just a bit hesitant about that kind of concept”, she added.

– ‘No constraints’ –

Digital rights activist Lee Yi Ting said the devices were the latest way Singaporeans were being watched.

“It all contributes to the sense people… need to watch what they say and what they do in Singapore to a far greater extent than they would in other countries,” she told AFP.

But the government defended its use of robots, saying they were not being used to identify or take action against offenders during the tech’s trial, and were needed to address a labour crunch as the population ages.

“The workforce is actually shrinking,” said Ong Ka Hing, from the government agency that developed the Xavier robots, adding they could help reduce the number of officers needed for foot patrols.

The island of about 5.5 million people has 90,000 police cameras, a number set to double by 2030, and facial recognition tech — which helps authorities pick out faces in a crowd — may be installed on lampposts across the city.

There was a rare public backlash this year when authorities admitted coronavirus contract-tracing data collected by an official system had been accessed by police. The government later passed legislation to limit its use.

But critics say the city-state’s laws generally put few limitations on government surveillance, and Singaporeans have little control over what happens to the data collected.

“There are no privacy law constraints on what the government can or cannot do,” said Indulekshmi Rajeswari, a privacy lawyer from Singapore who is now based in Germany.

Extinction Rebellion climate activists burst onto the catwalk at Louis Vuitton’s Tuesday Paris Fashion Week show to blast the industry’s impact on the environment.

“Overconsumption = extinction”, a banner brandished by one demonstrator from the international civil disobedience movement against climate change read.

She climbed onto the catwalk set up in the Louvre art gallery even as models were showing off the latest styles, before being hustled away by security guards, an AFP photographer saw.

Extinction Rebellion, Friends of the Earth and Youth For Climate said in a statement that around 30 people were involved in planning the protest, with two arrested.

They called on the government to enforce “an immediate cut in production levels in the sector, given that 42 items of clothing were sold per person in France in 2019”.

Louis Vuitton did not immediately comment on the incident when contacted by AFP.

The US Coast Guard is investigating a possible anchor strike as the cause of a broken pipeline that has spewed tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the sea off California, media reported Tuesday.

Emergency responders say up to 131,000 gallons of thick, sticky fuel have fouled waters that are home to seals, dolphins and whales since a pipeline ruptured at the weekend.

A 15-mile (24-kilometer) stretch of coastline has been closed to the public, and fishing has been halted as crews scramble to clean up one of California’s biggest spills in decades.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that the Coast Guard was trying to determine if a large commercial ship set anchor in the wrong place — and damaged the pipeline.

Martyn Willsher, the chief executive of pipeline operator Amplify Energy, said underwater observations revealed that 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) of the pipeline was not where it should be.

“The pipeline has essentially been pulled like a bowstring,” he told a press conference.

“At its widest point it is 105 feet away from where it was,” he said, adding the break in the pipeline was at the apex of this bend.

Willsher refused to speculate on the cause of that displacement and whether a ship’s anchor could be responsible, but said: “It is a 16-inch steel pipeline that’s a half inch thick and covered in an inch of concrete.

“For it to be moved 105 feet is not common.”

Los Angeles and Long Beach are among the busiest container ports in the world.

Pandemic-sparked logjams have seen dozens of huge container vessels stationed offshore as they wait for a berth.

Ships are given designated anchor points, usually well away from underwater hazards such as pipelines.

But the Los Angeles Times cited a source with knowledge of the investigation into the oil spill, who said a wrongly placed anchor may have dragged the pipeline along the seabed.

Officials under a “Unified Command” umbrella group said there are 14 vessels trying to recover oil from the water, with a little more than 4,700 gallons collected by Tuesday.

“Our top priorities remain the safety of health and human life, protection of the environment protection of wildlife, and to find and remove that oil as we detect it,” said Coast Guard captain Rebecca Ore.

Ore added that the precise quantity of oil that had leeched into the water was not known, but that the recovery effort was using a “worst-case scenario” equivalent to 131,000 gallons. This is slightly higher than the previously widely reported figure.

– Wildlife affected –

At least eight birds have been found covered in oil, with reports of other wildlife also affected.

Officials have warned people not to touch or try to save any creatures they find, but instead to call local authorities and alert them to animals affected by the oil.

The spill originated near the Elly platform, which was built in 1980 and is one of 23 oil and gas drilling platforms in federal waters off California, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Environmentalists have repeatedly called attention to the age of some of the facilities — which they say are rusty and poorly maintained — and the risks they pose. 

The disaster has reignited a debate about the presence of oil rigs and pipelines near the coast of Southern California.