Coast Guard: About 100 tar balls found throughout Fla. Keys, but none linked to Gulf spill

Tar balls in Fla. Keys not linked to Gulf spill

KEY WEST, Fla. — The Coast Guard says around 100 tar balls have been recovered throughout the Florida Keys in the last week, but none have been linked to the massive Gulf of Mexico spill.

Capt. Pat DeQuattro said Tuesday an early analysis has been able to rule out that the tar balls came from the Deepwater Horizon spill. More analysis is needed to determine where they did come from.

Around 50 tar balls were found over the weekend in the Dry Tortugas, the islands farthest west in the Keys chain. Others were found in Key West and as far north as Tavernier, near Key Largo.

DeQuattro says the tar balls ranged from the size of a fingernail to eight inches in diameter.