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How to Clean a Tarball From an Oil Spill

Tarballs wash up on beaches after oil spills, but other marine activities, such as vessel tank cleaning, pumping bilges and offshore petroleum production, also produce tarballs. These sticky lumps of oil are mostly solid, but as the sun heats them, they tend to melt into the sand. Call your state's department of environmental protection if you see tarballs. It may instruct you to avoid picking them up yourself. If you do clean up the tarballs, dispose of them in the regular trash. If the substance adheres to your skin, clean it off as quickly as possible.

Things You'll Need

Gloves
Plastic bags
Shovel
Sand
Mineral oil
Grease remover

Instructions

Remove Tarballs from Beaches
- 1
  Wear sturdy rubber gloves before handling tarballs.
- 2
  Pick up tarballs that do not appear to be melting and place them in a plastic bag.
- 3
  Use a shovel to remove tarballs that have begun melting into the sand. Remove the top layer of sand along with the tarballs and place them in a plastic bag for disposal.
- 4
  Place the bag of tarballs and sand inside another plastic bag to help prevent spillage. Dispose of the bag in the trash.
Remove Tarball Residue from Skin
- 5
  Rinse the skin with fresh water, not saltwater.
- 6
  Scrape as much of the tar off your skin as possible. Use beach sand to scrub the skin, if necessary.
- 7
  Apply mineral oil or a product intended to remove grease.
- 8
  Rinse the skin thoroughly with more fresh water. Reapply the grease-removing product if necessary and rerinse.

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