Oil Found in Gulf Beach Sand, Even After Cleanups
Long-lasting, hidden oil from the Gulf spill poses risk, experts say.
Digging under the patchily oil-splattered white sands of Pensacola Beach, Florida (map), on Thursday, it didn't take long for scientists to strike black gold.
Oil patties and tarballs were discovered as deep as 2 feet (0.6 meter) beneath beaches dirtied by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill—the deepest oil yet found by a team of University of South Florida coastal geologists that's been studying the effects of the oil spill on Gulf beaches since early May. The previous record had been 6 inches (about 15 centimeters) deep, said geologist Ping Wang, the team's leader.
The discoveries suggest that toxic oil lies hidden under even "clean" patches of beaches along the U.S. Gulf Coast—and that oil-spill cleanup crews are only
