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Once again, small ball-shaped debris has washed up on the shores of Sydney, Australiaforcing the closure of nine area beaches while experts try to figure out what they are and where they come from.
The gray and white balls, mostly about the size of a marble, come months after mysterious black balls washed up, prompting the closure of eight beaches in October. When authorities tested these balls, they decided they were likely the result of a sewage leak.
Well, Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins says the last balls “could be anything.”
“We don’t know what it is at the moment and that makes it even more worrying,” she told The Guardian.
Most debris balls are about the size of a marble.
Handout / Northern Beaches Council
“There’s something that’s apparently leaking or falling … floating and being tossed around there.”
In a statement, the Northern Beaches Council said it was working with the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to clear the mystery balls and have them sent for testing.
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Meanwhile, she advised beachgoers to avoid Manly, Dee Why, Long Reef, Queenscliff, Freshwater, North and South Curl Curl, North Steyne and North Narrabeen beaches until further notice.
According to the BBC, the debris that washed up in October was widely reported as “tar balls,” but tests found they contained everything from pesticides and hair, to cooking oils, soap scum, veterinary drugs, methamphetamine and more.
Last October, several beaches, including the iconic Bondi east of central Sydney, were closed after thousands of black balls appeared on the shores.
Handout / Northern Beaches Council
Scientists said that they resembled fat, oil, and fat blobs – often called fat mountain – which are commonly formed in sewage systems from man-made waste and can form when substances pile up and stick together.
The EPA has advised the public not to handle the balls of waste and to report them if they are found.
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