The mystery behind those beach-bound black balls that sent Sydneysiders into an apocalyptic tizzy earlier this week has been revealed.
ICYMI, Coogee and Gordon’s Bay locals were left perplexed on Tuesday after lifeguards discovered thousands of small, round balls washed ashore in the early morning hours.
In addition to giving beach-goers a sense of existential dread (is Mother nature finally turning on us?), the appearance of the strange debris prompted authorities to close the popular Eastern Suburbs beaches, as Randwick City Council officers collected samples to identify the “origin and composition of the material,” according to a council statement.
Now, the results are in, and while the optimist in me wishes they were just strange-looking peanut butter balls from some kind of Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs event, the actual material of the debris is far less tasty.
The council’s tests showed that the lil’ spheres were a hydrocarbon-based pollutant “consistent with the makeup of tar balls”, Randwick Council Mayor Dylan Parker said.
For those who skipped chemistry class, hydrocarbons are the main component of petroleum-based products, confirming earlier predictions that the washed-ashore balls were likely the result of oily run-off from a small oil slip or spill.
When coming into contact with floating debris, leaked tar can form potentially toxic ball shapes that not even all those bloodthirsty seagulls should take a peck at.
Since hydrocarbons can be carcinogenic or poisonous, Parker said the beaches will remain closed until further notice as the clean-up process continues.
“Our priority as a local council is to keep people safe and protect as far as possible our coastal and marine environment,” the mayor said.
The council is said to have tapped occupational hygienists and waste removal specialists to address the situation, and will work alongside authorities as the removal process “will likely continue” for the remainder of the week.
The full scale and origin of the event is not yet known, but some experts theorised on Wednesday that the balls were too small to indicate any sort of large-scale oil spill (great news for Ariel and co.), and that their round shape suggested they had been smoothed at sea for months before washing ashore.
“I am grateful to the community for their patience and for remaining off the beach,” Parker said. “I also wish to thank the council staff, contractors and various NSW government agency staff who have been working around the clock to respond to this issue.”
Randwick City Council will provide updates about when Coogee beach and Gordon’s Bay will reopen, but in the meantime, I’m off to manifest some meatball rain.
Lead image: Randwick City Council
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