SITE OF NEW CARISSA - Black stuff. Brown stuff. White stuff.

It all came spewing out of a hose and pipe suspended from the cranes and barges at the New Carissa wreck on Friday. Titan was in the process of "air lifting" - flushing sand and water out of the way with pressurized air. It's a common process used in salvage operations. It's similar to how commercial crab fishermen flush out pots that have been covered over by sand, too.

And all that dark junk that's coming up with the sand is safe, environmental officials said.

"This is what naturally occurs when sand sits for nine years," National Response Corporation Environmental Services Project Supervisor Randy Henry said.

NRC is contracted through the Oregon Department of State Lands to come up with contingency plans and monitor the beach 24 hours a day for any sign of contamination.

Michael Renz, the state on-scene coordinator for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, also was at the New Carissa compound. He's been at the site every day since Tuesday.

"I'm only here during the heightened potential for (contaminant) release," Renz said.

Read the full story in The World on Saturday.