Tarballs Linger On Uninhabited Alabama Beaches -

[hatrack]

AUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. -- Tarballs linger on Alabama’s uninhabited beaches, clustering around the edges of sand dunes and sticking to seashells and driftwood. The public beaches of Orange Beach, Gulf Shores and Dauphin Island received deep cleanings over the winter and are still monitored daily. But the more remote beaches not typically accessible to tourists, such as the west end of Dauphin Island and portions of the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, have not received the same treatment.

EDIT

In mid-April, thousands of small tarballs were visible in heavy equipment tracks left near the water’s edge by large sand-sifting machines employed by BP for its “deep cleaning” program. Lisa Hansen, a member of the Dauphin Island Town Council, visited the uninhabited portion of the island in April and was upset by the large number of tarballs present. Hansen said she believed BP could have done a better job before the March 1 deadline.

“I’ve got a 5 gallon bucket of them in my garage. The tarballs ranged from pea-size to a really big hamburger,” Hansen said. “BP has not done what they said they would do. It’s still out there on the beach and it is being moved by the waves. That means it can get into Mobile Bay and the Mississippi Sound, into our estuaries and all those places we don’t want it to get to.”

While the tracks left by the machines were still visible on the beaches during visits by the Press-Register over the last two weeks, the tarballs were no longer apparent in the tracks, perhaps due to high winds and waves in late April. But large numbers of tarballs were visible much higher up the beach, away from the water. A lot of sand was mixed in with the tar, which had faded from the bright magenta color typical last summer and fall to a muted brown. The tar still carried a faint odor similar to lighter fluid. Dropped in the water, the tarballs on the beach sank like stones.

EDIT

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/05/tarballs_linger_on_alabamas_un.html

[intheflow]

1. But - but - but --

I just saw a BP ad saying the Alabama beaches were safe and clean, complete with footage of kids splashing in the water! If BP said it, it must be true!

:sarcasm:

This really make me sick. It's like another disaster that just keeps on giving. :(

[Control-Z]

2. I just had the most

convoluted misunderstanding of your subject title. I read limpballs, instead of tarballs, and it was a trip out to left field from there, contemplating what Rush could possibly have to say about Alabama sands. It was an ugly trip. I'm not proud.

I feel pretty much the same about the oil spill as I do Rush.

I guess maybe it wasn't all that twisted, after all.