Daijiworld Media Network – Panaji (EP)

Panaji, May 27: Tar balls have been seen frequently in Goa coast since 1970. As their total weight is as high as 40 ton, experts in the field stress the need to change the method of their disposal. Those are being used to fill potholes in Tamil Nadu. They can be seen every summer and monsoon. They have appeared on Colva beach here and other places in the current pre monsoon season.

Those cannot be sent to landfill sites as they block oxygen to sediments and soil. We can see the model of Tamil Nadu of laying them below tarred roads. Leaving them on the beaches will adversely affect the ecosystem, opines Savita Kerkar, an expert. Picking them manually though time consuming, causes less damage to the ecosystem. Compressing them into blocks or bricks for use in road dividers or to fill potholes will be wise.

The increasing intensity of pre monsoon currents in the sea, throw up the sticky oily tar balls along the coast of Goa. As the slick is hit by waves and strong wind, it gets separated into small portions. The tar balls are formed when the oil gives them a crusty exterior.

Dumping of oil by rogue ships or leakage of rigs is blamed for formation of tar balls. Those are hard and crusty to touch, but soft and gooey inside. They do not have definite shapes or sizes.