CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – If you’re headed to the beach soon, you’ll want to pack some baby oil.
That’s because the infamous tar balls are once again washing up all along the Texas coast.
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“Unfortunately, the beach is covered in tar balls, if you haven’t heard,” Mustang Island State Park Ranger Eric Ehrlich said in a video posted to Facebook this week.
He explained that the tar balls come up from the sea floor and are usually more prevalent during the summer months.
There are more than 600 known seeps in the Gulf of Mexico, and ocean currents wash the petroleum blobs onto the beach.
During a similar event last summer, Texas General Land Office (GLO) officials told KSAT that GLO Oil Spill staff monitor currents to help determine where tar may have originated and provide beach tar samples to Texas A&M College Station for analyses and tracking.
Beachgoers who encounter tar balls can call the state oil spill reporting hotline at 800-832-8224 just to make sure they are due to natural causes and not a man-made oil spill.
GLO said occasional brief contact with beach tar is harmless for most people. You can wash with soap and water, baby oil or cleaning compounds such as skin-safe products sold at auto parts stores.
Ehrlich also encouraged people to pack their baby oil when they come to the beach, as it’s considered to be the best way to wash the tar off shoes, skin, etc.
“Don’t use gas, solvents, kerosene, diesel fuel or similar products that present a greater health hazard than the actual tar ball contact,” GLO officials advised.