Coast Guard lab says tar balls that washed up on Florida Keys not linked to Gulf oil spill

Lab: Fla. Keys tar balls not from Gulf oil spill

KEY WEST, Fla. — The Coast Guard says tar balls that floated ashore in the Florida Keys aren’t linked to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

A report released Wednesday says tests by a Coast Guard laboratory show the tar balls don’t match the type of oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill. The source of the tar balls isn’t known. Tar balls can occur naturally or come from other sources such as ships.

Twenty were found Monday and several others Tuesday.

Government scientists who surveyed the Gulf on Tuesday said tendrils of light oil were near or already in a powerful current that could take it to Florida. The loop current circulates in the Gulf and takes water south to the Florida Keys and the Gulf Stream. But most oil remains dozens of miles away from the current.