Nov. 8 (UPI) — Mysterious black balls that washed up on the beaches of Sydney, Australia were initially suspected to be tar balls, but turned out to be miniature “fatbergs” containing human feces.
The black balls were first spotted on Bondi Beach on October 16, and similar balls were found on other city beaches in the following days.
New South Wales environmental officials said they were initially suspected to be tar balls resulting from an unknown oil spill, but tests have now confirmed they contained cooking oil, soap scum, industrial chemicals, drug residue, hair and human feces.
Researchers said the balls are miniature “fatbergs,” sewer-blocking accumulations of grease, grease and sewage.
“They smell absolutely disgusting, they smell worse than anything you’ve ever smelled,” Jon Beves, associate professor at the University of New South Wales who led the study, told 9News.
He said the contents of the balls “pointed us to sewage and other sources of municipal wastewater” as their source.
Sydney Water said officials are not aware of any problems with the city’s wastewater.
The New South Wales Environmental Protection Authority is continuing to investigate.
