On Saturday, five gallons of tar balls appeared on the Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island in Texas. Their arrival means that BP oil has now hit all five gulf states. Researchers don't believe that ocean currents alone carried the balls, but instead say that the glops of gloop washed off recovery ship hulls. Specifically, the researchers from a joint BP-Coast Guard response team looked at the tar balls' "weathering," which they say was too light for oil that had traveled from the leak site, around 550 miles away.
Galveston's mayor, Joe Jaworski, said he was hopeful the analysis was correct and that the tar balls were not a sign of more oil to come. "This is good news. The water looks good. We're cautiously optimistic this is an anomaly," he said. [BBC]
Greg Pollock, Texas Deputy Commissioner of the Oil Spill Prevention and Response, has worried that this day was ...
