The tar has been buried there for 10 years. Salvors cutting up the New Carissa stern expected to see it sooner or later.

Friday, the shipwreck gave up some of its debris. It sent bits and chunks of tar into the surf and onto Horsfall Beach.

“In the first year or so it was probably really rubbery like tire rubber,” said Garrett Wickham, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s on-scene coordinator.

Over time, the fuel that was left hardened and solidified. Some sunk to the sandy bottom and settled under the doomed wood chip ship’s stern.

“We expect on the next few tides we’re going to get more of these washing up,” he said.

When the fuel originally spilled and floated on the water, the light stuff evaporated off. To understand the chemical process, you can compare it to crude oil. Refineries are left with heavy components after pulling off gas and diesel. Those components are called the “light ends.” They evaporate easily. That’s kind of how it worked with the fuel that remained or leaked from the Carissa.

The tar debris Friday ranged in size from pea-sized bits to a piece 6 inches across. Some of the chunks are soft in the middle and they break like flaking asphalt, Wickham explained.

The insides of some of the tar balls are soft and did give off slight sheens. Along the high-tide line, the beach cleanup workers scooped up the tarballs and any sandy sheen around them. They put the tar in double bags that will be taken to a proper disposal site, he said.

As to any threats to wildlife, Wickham doubted there would be any. No animals would eat it and there’s no light oil left that could stick to animals or shorebirds should they rub up against them.