Tarballs are easy to find on the uninhabited portion of Dauphin Island. Though BP performed some cleanup operations on that section of the island during the winter, work was halted March 1 to protect nesting birds. The tar has collected at the edge of the sand dunes, clinging to seashells and driftwood. Press-Register / Ben Raines

By Ben Raines, Press-Register
8 May 2011 DAUPHIN 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. … 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.” … 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. Ed Overton, an oil chemist at Louisiana State University who was paid by federal officials to advise the government, predicted the week the spill began that Alabama and Mississippi would be dealing with tarballs for years to come. He said last week that the most harmful components of the oil had likely dissipated. “I have gotten a few reports of oil buried on beaches. Someone told me you could find it on Petit Bois Island by digging in places where the sand felt strange when you walked on it,” Overton said. “They’ll be cleaning tarballs off those beaches for a long time.” …

Tarballs linger on Alabama’s uninhabited beaches