"AUBURN, Ala. — A new study says oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster is still trapped in Alabama's beaches four years later.

The report was released recently by Auburn University researchers who've been studying the BP oil spill since shortly after it occurred.

A team from Auburn collected oil on Alabama's coast as recently as August. The research found that oil is still trapped in the sand, mostly as tar balls.

Test results also show the oil degrades much slower when it's submerged than when it's exposed to air or water."

The Associated Press had the story December 2, 2014. [2]