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Modern Mysteries

Scientists solve mystery of black balls found washed up in Australia

By T.K. Randall
October 17, 2024 · Comment icon 11 comments
Coogee Beach
Coogee Beach, Sydney. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 4.0 Sardaka
Concerns were raised when hundreds of strange black spheres started appearing along a popular Sydney beach.
The maritime mystery, which saw the closure of Coogee Beach this week, made headline news in Australia as experts attempted to figure out what the peculiar black balls actually were.

The spheres, which were found washed up on the sand in their hundreds, perplexed beachgoers and raised concerns over whether or not they posed a health hazard to anyone who might come into contact with them.

Fortunately, however, the mystery of exactly what they were would go on to be solved when preliminary testing revealed that the balls were comprised of a hydrocarbon-based pollutant "consistent with the makeup of tar balls".

The area remained closed while workers attempted to collect up all the balls from the beach.
"Our priority as a local council is to keep people safe and protect as far as possible our coastal and marine environment," said local mayor Dylan Parker.

"We have engaged an expert occupational hygienist and a specialist waste removal contractor who are currently systematically removing the debris from the beaches in accordance with an agreed safe work method statement developed with the NSW EPA."

Investigations will likely continue for some time while experts attempt to determine the scale of the pollution as well as where exactly the tar balls originally came from.

The leading theory is that they are the result of an oil leak on a ship somewhere out at sea.

Keeping beachgoers safe, however, remains the top priority.



Source: News.com.au | Comments (11)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #2 Posted by Alchopwn 19 days ago
They all belong to Kim Kardashian.  
Comment icon #3 Posted by josellama2000 19 days ago
that looks like BS, literally. And i am taking about the balls, not about the article/publication.
Comment icon #4 Posted by Still Waters 19 days ago
https://phys.org/news/2024-10-bondi-beach-sydney-shores-tar.html
Comment icon #5 Posted by Black Red Devil 18 days ago
What's the BS part about the balls?
Comment icon #6 Posted by josellama2000 17 days ago
choose at your discretion reference source: Doo-Doo, C. R., & Stinkley, F. A. (2001). The Universal Encyclopedia of Poo, page #2.
Comment icon #7 Posted by Piney 17 days ago
Road apples and meadow muffins. ?
Comment icon #8 Posted by Still Waters 17 days ago
Sydney reopens beaches after tar ball mystery New South Wales's Environment Minister, Penny Sharpe, said investigations were continuing to establish the source of the pollution and who was responsible. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly5067p6p1o
Comment icon #9 Posted by Trelane 14 days ago
I blame OJ.
Comment icon #10 Posted by Black Red Devil 14 days ago
I blame the Biden administration.
Comment icon #11 Posted by Doc Socks Junior 14 days ago
Little goops of tar wash up on central California beaches quite frequently. Natural oil seeps are the main culprit.


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