Scientists are exploring whether tar balls come from the BP oil
spill in the gulf. Scientists are trying to determine whether 20
tar balls, some as big as softballs, found close to shore down
in Key West Monday night have come from the massive Gulf oil
spill. The twenty balls of tar were found by members of the
Florida Park Service who were doing a shoreline survey in Fort
Zachary Taylor State Park, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. A
lab analysis will determine the origin of the balls, which were
between three and eight inches in diameter. Officials said it
could take three to five days to determine the source of the tar
balls. The Coast Guard said they'll be conducting more searches
Tuesday along the shore and in the air from helicopters. The
news of the tar balls hitting the Florida Keys came just hours
after scientists predicted that oil from the spill would be
entering the loop current, bringing it to South Florida and
possibly beyond. "I think we are going to have patches,
concentrations of tarballs in