Coast Guard: Tar balls found in Keys not from BP spill

[MNeagle]

Tar balls discovered on the Florida Keys shoreline are not connected to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard said Wednesday.

Tests done "conclusively show" that the tar balls found on the shoreline do not match the type of oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The source of the tar balls remains unknown at this time.

"The conclusion that these tar balls are not from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident in no way diminishes the need to continue to aggressively identify and clean up tar ball-contaminated areas in the Florida Keys," Capt. Pat DeQuattro, commanding officer of the Coast Guard's Key West sector said. "We will continue to operate as a Unified Command and utilize funding through the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund until we have successfully identified any additional tar balls on the shoreline and completed cleanup efforts."

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/19/coast-guard-tar-balls-on-florida-keys-not-from-gulf-oil-spill/?hpt=T2

[MNeagle]

Is it possible the tar balls mixed with the chemical dispersants, & that's why they don't 'match'?

[Ares]

Nothing to see here folks, move along. Move along

[undgrd]

Do tar balls randomly show up on shore from time to time? I doubt it.
:fish

[cigarlover]

Yea how many of these balls have shown up in say the last 5 years?

[Heimdhal]

Obviously not many of you walk florida beaches ;). I cant tell you how many times I've stepped in tar in my life. Heck alot of beaches have tar clean up stations located near the showers for just that.

The University of North Carolina has a sports team named "the tar heels".


But, I also have my doubts that this tar ISNT from the oil spil. I knew it would hit the keys eventualy and this is probably it, and they are just covering their asses right now. Might turn out in a few weeks "Oh, yeah, that tar actualy WAS from the oil spill! Oh lord, save us all."

I dont believe a damn one of em anymore.

[Brent]

More than likely the tar is from the recent spill but it is not entirely uncommon to run into tar on the Gulf Coast beaches. Those big oil rigs all leak oil on a daily basis and have been for years. The amount is dwarfed by the recent leak of course but regardless it is not as if those waters were perfectly oil free before the spill.