Tar Balls On Alabama Beaches To Be Tested

GULF SHORES, Ala. — Heavy surf churned up by Tropical Storm Lee sent tar balls rolling onto Alabama's prime tourist beaches, and officials said Tuesday that they plan to test the black and brown globs to find out if they're related to last year's oil spill.

Brandon Franklin, the coastal plans manager for the city of Gulf Shores, said officials are collecting samples that will be sent to Auburn University for testing.

The exact origin of the tar balls is still unclear, and BP isn't taking responsibility for the tar balls just yet. It has sent survey teams to conduct post-storm assessments along coastal beaches to determine what may have developed on the beaches and barrier islands as a result of Lee. The oil giant is prepared to mobilize response crews to affected areas if necessary, spokesman Tom Mueller said.

Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon said most of the tar balls there were very small. The tar balls visible at Gulf Shores ranged from the size of a marble to nearly the size of a baseball.

Connie Harris of Alabaster, Ala., had stayed at a condominium in Gulf Shores over the Labor Day weekend with three friends. When she returned from a beach walk, she had to scrub her feet with soap and a wash cloth, she said.

"When we walked on the beach, we had tar on our feet," Harris said.

Grant Brown, a spokesman for the city of Gulf Shores, said he had been told the situation wasn't as bad as last year, when oil fouled beaches all along the Gulf Coast because of the BP oil spill. But it was significant, he said.

"It confirms our fear that there are tar mats just offshore and that we may have more tar coming in whenever there's a storm," he said.

Elsewhere, the remnants of Lee have knocked out power to thousands, churned up rough ocean surf and drenched areas with rain that left some rivers and creeks topping their banks. At least four people have died because of the storm, including a swimmer who went missing off the Alabama coast.

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Associated Press writer Harry Weber contributed to this report from Atlanta.

Comments

[rfmaneater]

04:43 PM on 09/07/2011

I had tar balls once. The Doctor said it was my own asphalt.

[MrCool]

02:46 PM on 09/07/2011

We are not finished with the BP destruction our Gulf. There is a lot more that will be found. Although the discussion has stopped on the toxins they poured into The Gulf as a despersant: Corexit 9500, their long term impact will evolve in a negative way. People are still getting sick and some are dying even without the media attention. I strongly urge them to send samples to more laboritories that just Auburn University for testing.
It has grown more obvious that BP cares nothing about life. A more recent example is the release of the Lockerbee killer back to Libya, and this little war there too. Oil over life is their motto.

[Newton21]

02:15 PM on 09/07/2011

Growing up in Florida in the 70's we had tar on the beach all the time. A day at the beach meant cleaning off your feet with turpentine to remove the tar. Tar is nothing new and doesn't necessarily mean it is from the oil spill. I don't think all the oil could have been cleaned up from the oil spill . How do you clean it off of the ocean floor. While oil spills are very bad for the ocean, the ocean floor itself without the help of man can leak oil as well.

[rodoner]

01:07 PM on 09/07/2011

Nature, cleaning things up...The same thing happened for years after WW2 on Cape Cod beaches

[rccthatsme]

12:45 PM on 09/07/2011

I recall Obama saying BP's $0 billion was a "down payment" but have heard of no further payments. Further Obama is now spending billions to help BP get an OIL contract in Libya.

[anigma47]

12:36 PM on 09/07/2011

Do you really think the BP spill was cleaned up? It just is not in plain view,not until something like this shows up. The oil companys never really clean up much at all,but get by making claims that they do.

[Shanghai13]

12:32 PM on 09/07/2011

How long have tarballs been wasing up on this beach? I know that we have had them in Texas for decades. As have several other beaches that I have visited along the Gulf Coast. Tarballs are nothing new, being produced from passing tankers and freighters and natural oil seeps in the Gulf. They can even be found on the beaches in the Caribean and Bermuda. More eco sensationalism.

[lifeandvictory]

12:28 PM on 09/07/2011

What do they need to be tested for, we already know they are full of corexit !? Take a look at this vid . . http://www.youtube.com/user/JustThaTruth We have been duped people.

[silverwolf13]

01:59 PM on 09/07/2011

Who allowed this disgusting racist comment?

[frankerin]

12:21 PM on 09/07/2011

Tar balls used to come ashore at Rockaway beach in the 40s and 50s before the rules on bilge cleaning by tankers and freighter were changed. Small but sticky balls. My father used bacon fat to clean his and our feet to dislodge the gluey tar, Worked fine, fast and not too messy

[GBYACHT]

11:44 AM on 09/07/2011

So they'll spend millions of dollars to try to find out where a tar ball came from. And anyone swimming in the ocean in a hurricane or storm - then they drown, were asking for it.

[juanillegal]

11:31 AM on 09/07/2011

We like to refer to them as balls of color...

[BEEPA927]

12:17 PM on 09/07/2011

Truly politicaly correct!

[Eric Graff]

11:25 AM on 09/07/2011

Trolls luv to bring up the President with anything related to black or tar WHAT RACISTS

[frankerin]

12:22 PM on 09/07/2011

Thanks for the reminder. Say it again, racism never dies. Perhaps we can avoid saying it and posting your theatrical outrage.

[patardugno]

11:23 AM on 09/07/2011

Oil & tar balls are a constant problem in Port Hynemi (Whynimi), California, the beach area near Oxnard, Califorinia. Why is in no concern there?!

[jwbasinlaw]

11:39 AM on 09/07/2011

You really are a dickwad!

[silverwolf13]

02:01 PM on 09/07/2011

Don't we have a moderator? Flagged for racism.

[frankerin]

12:22 PM on 09/07/2011

Because it's california.

[nahtanbueno]

11:11 AM on 09/07/2011

Maybe you should check out old articles about hurricanes, these are naturally occuring as oil seeps into the ocean from underground and has been doing this for millions of years. Funny thet didn't mention that, it was on the regular tv news....