Tar balls have been spotted on the beaches of Padre and Mustang islands as of Sunday and Monday. Clean up crews, both volunteer and paid, have kept the sand clean, however, hitting the beaches so fast and efficiently that tar balls are actually hard to spot during a casual visit. The oil is most likely from the Galveston oil spill, which occurred when a barge carrying 1 million gallons of heavy oil collided with a ship Saturday, March 22, in Galveston Bay. Some 168,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into the gulf as a result.
The first sightings of oil came around 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning by overflights conducted by the Texas General Land Office and U.S. Coast Guard personnel. Beachgoers reported spotting oil patches near Bob Hall Pier and between access roads 2 and 3. Tar balls, ranging from dime size to 6 inches were observed in patches of seaweed along J.P. Luby Beach off of Zahn Road.
Response teams from the Texas General Land office mobilized to contain and collect the oil. West Oso High School volunteers were on a section of beach at Access Road 1 Monday morning with shovels to collect trash and tar balls.
“We are doing this [clean up] so that hopefully the generations after us gets to enjoy the same type of we beach that we have had growing up,” said high school senior John Hernandez, 18.
They were not allowed to touch the tar balls, so they used to shovels and rakes. They also picked up trash left behind by Spring Breakers. Much of the trash picked up had oil deposits on it.
No one should pick up tar balls barehanded, said officials from the Texas “Y” Response Area Command. Residents and tourists who spot tar balls or any oil on the beach are urged to call 361-939-6349 to report the exact locations of the pollution. Boaters are also urged to stay away from oil patches they may find. They can call the same number to report locations.
“What we worry about is oil coming into inlet waters,” said Tony Wood, director of the National Oil Spill School. “We are prepared for this. People are watching for it, riding up and down the beach looking for oil. We can deal with it.”
