Portion Of Santa Monica Beach Reopens After White Substance Washes Ashore

SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com) — A portion of beach in Santa Monica has reopened hours after a white substance washed ashore on Wednesday.

The area in the 1700 block of Ocean Front Walk to Tower 15 north of the pier was closed while a hazardous materials team collected and tested the substance.

Several agencies, including the Santa Monica Fire Department, Santa Monica Police Department, and Los Angeles County Lifeguards, were dispatched to the scene.

The agencies subsequently determined that the substance was not hazardous, but instead was linoleic acid.

"The unknown substance was determined to be not hazardous so it's a fatty-like acid that washed ashore and if we're talking about the size and the amount that washed ashore, a 55-gallon trash can, a large beach trash can, it was roughly about half of that," one official said.

"At this time, there's no currently beach closures except for just the initial area where it has washed up," he added.

The beach will be available to swimmers at sunlight Thursday. The source of the substance was not immediately known.