Larry Cahoon, an oceanographer and professor at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, said by the time oil could make its way up the East Coast and on to local beaches, it likely would have taken the form of “tarballs with the consistency of biscuits.”
Cahoon said the tar balls are the products of oil that has spent weeks or months decomposing in the ocean. While still harmful if ingested, the tar balls are more of a nuisance than a threat to people or wildlife.
“You see a little kid break one open and rub it on his sister, which I don’t recommend but probably wouldn’t do much harm,” Cahoon said.
