Scientists have solved the mystery of sticky black balls that started washing up on beaches in Sydney, Australia, last month. Thousands of these strange balls first appeared in mid-October, including on the city’s famous Bondi Beach, leading to beach closures. The public was advised to keep their distance from the balls and not swim near or touch them.
Authorities considered several explanations for the balls, which were initially believed to be tar from a possible oil barge spill or sewage outflow. However, the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) said in a statement on Wednesday that an investigation confirmed the balls are a combination of “fatty acids, petroleum hydrocarbons and other organic and inorganic materials.”
Fatty acids are commonly found in products such as cooking oils, soaps and skin care products; while petroleum hydrocarbons are chemicals that come from oil and gas products, including gasoline, motor oil, and diesel fuel. The organic components also consist of naturally degradable substances such as human hair and food waste.
Each ball likely contains hundreds to thousands of different materials and is believed to have come from a mixed waste site. The tests also revealed traces of recreational drugs and contraceptives. However, authorities have yet to identify the source and final results are expected in the coming weeks.
“What we found is much more – this doesn’t sound very scientific – but much more disgusting than we previously thought,” said researcher William Alexander Donald. NBC News. Donald is a professor of chemistry at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, which conducted the tests with the Australian government’s Department of Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Water.
“In testing, these balls smell worse than anything you’ve ever smelled – at least to me, worse than anything I’ve ever smelled before,” he continued. “This is an enormously complex analytical challenge where we detected hundreds of different molecules and components in these blobs.”
