Tar Balls Wash Up on Area’s Beaches

The Coast Guard has begun cleaning up tar balls that have washed ashore or been spotted at Sunset, Seal and Venice beaches, a spokesman said Monday.

About 55 gallons of the tar was wiped up last week from a 500-yard area near Sunset beach, and samples are being sent to a laboratory in Connecticut to determine the source of the sticky substance, Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Shane Ishiki said.

Ishiki said the tar may have come from natural underground seepage. He said there have been no oil spills that would have created the balls, which are formed by waves churning small amounts of tar.

The contamination has not prompted officials to close any beaches, and there have been no reports of dead fish or birds traced to the tar.

“It’s a nuisance. No one likes to see it there,” Ishiki said. “It’s not a real danger to anybody, (only) a danger in the sense that you shouldn’t swallow it or let it stay on the skin.”