Florida Keys tar balls not linked to BP oil leak
May 19th, 2010 - 7:49 pm ICT by BNO News
KEY WEST, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) — According to Coast Guard Marine Safety Laboratory tests, the tar balls discovered on Florida Keys shoreline on Tuesday were not from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday.
A sampling of tar balls discovered on several beaches were flown to New London, Conn. Tuesday for testing and analysis.
“The results of tests conclusively show that the tar balls collected from Florida Keys beaches do not match the type of oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The source of the tar balls remains unknown at this time,” the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement.
Coast Guard pollution investigators responded to a report of twenty tar balls found on the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in Key West on Monday. Park rangers conducted a shoreline survey and recovered the tar balls at a rate of nearly three tar balls an hour throughout the day.
On Tuesday, Coast Guard Sector Key West received notification from the National Response Center of tar balls on the beach in Big Pine Key, followed by a report of tar balls on Loggerhead Key in the Dry Tortugas National Park. There was another report of tar balls on Smathers Beach on Tuesday morning.
“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,” said. Capt. Pat DeQuattro, commanding officer of Sector Key West.
- Majority Of Tar Balls Found In Texas Unrelated To BP Oil Spill - Jul 11, 2010
- Tar Balls Originating From Gulf Oil Spill Cover Pensacola Beach - Jun 24, 2010
- Oil Leak Disseminates To Florida Keys - May 19, 2010
- Oil From Leak Has Possibly Reached Key West In Florida - May 19, 2010
- Sunken ship spewing less oil, say maritime authorities - Aug 09, 2011
- BP oil leak reaches the shores of Florida Keys - May 19, 2010
- US to battle oil leak for 'months to come' - Jun 07, 2010
- Tar balls reach Lake Pontchartrain - Jul 06, 2010
- BP places 'top cap' over leak - Jun 06, 2010
- "Poor safety culture" onboard Deepwater Horizon led to last year's massive Gulf oil spill - Apr 23, 2011
- Beaches hit by tar balls, Goa tracking rogue vessels - May 24, 2011
- Tar Balls Unearthed At A Beach In St. Johns County In Florida Unlikely To Have Stemmed From The Gulf Oil Spill - Jul 11, 2010
- Fresh wave of oily tar balls layer Goa beaches - Apr 19, 2011
- Obama Administration sends fourth bill to British Petroleum - Jul 14, 2010
- Tar balls from Goa beaches to be incinerated - Sep 06, 2010
Tags: bno, bp, bp oil, florida keys, florida keys beaches, gulf of mexico, horizon oil, key west florida, marine safety, oil leak, oil spill, safety laboratory, shoreline, tar balls, u s coast guard