More beaches shut as ‘tar ball’ clean-up grows
Source: X
The mystery of tar balls washing up on Sydney’s eastern shores has deepened, with more popular beaches closed due to the debris.
Clovelly and part of Maroubra beach were shut to the public on Thursday, following the discovery of the black globules littering the sand.
Nearby Coogee remains closed after the dark-coloured balls were first found on Tuesday, as well as Gordons Bay, which was closed on Wednesday.
In addition, Waverley Council also closed all of its beaches – including Bondi – after the discovery of “pea to marble-size balls of light grey-white colour at Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches” on Thursday.
The council said the beaches would remain closed until the completion of further investigations by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and other authorities.
“The wellbeing of our community is paramount. That’s why council has taken the precaution to close our beaches,” mayor Will Nemesh said.
A major clean-up operation was still under way at Coogee Beach on Thursday, with workers in orange Hazmat suits combing the coastline.
Randwick City Council said contractors were removing the potentially hazardous material. The council is working with the EPA in cleaning up the beaches and disposing of the mystery spheres.
Tar balls are formed when oil comes into contact with other debris and water — usually as a result of oil spills or natural seepage.
The source of the pollution is unknown, with the EPA investigation ongoing.
“At this stage, the origin and contents of the balls remains a mystery,” the agency said, adding it had not yet confirmed the presence of hydrocarbon as suggested by council tests.
“Until the clean-up is concluded, we advise against swimming and touching any balls that may have washed ashore.”
‘Very unusual’: CSIRO
CSIRO principal research scientist Sharon Hook said tar balls usually came in a variety of shapes, from big flat pancakes to tiny spheres.
She said it was unusual for them to be perfectly round, as found in Sydney.
“While the objects could be tar balls, in my view, it is also possible they are something else,” she wrote in an article for The Conversation before the debris was identified by the council.
“I haven’t seen them in person, but from the publicly available images, the objects appear to be relatively uniform, perfectly round shapes. That would be very unusual for tar balls – but not impossible.”
The US’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states the appearance of tar balls on a beach may indicate an oil spill.
However, they can also be produced from natural seeping, where oil slowly escapes from the Earth surface above a petroleum reservoir.
“For most people, an occasional brief contact with a small amount of oil, while not recommended, will do no harm,” the NOAA website says.
“However, some people are especially sensitive to chemicals, including the hydrocarbons found in crude oil and petroleum products.
“They may have an allergic reaction or develop rashes even from brief contact with oil. In general, we recommend that contact with oil be avoided.”
Randwick mayor Dylan Parker said community safety was the top priority and the beaches were closed as a precaution while the material was collected and disposed of.
“We don’t yet know what has happened to produce the debris washing up on our beaches, but we will continue to work with relevant authorities to ensure the safety of the public and clean up our beaches,” he said.
The public has been urged to avoid touching the material.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said authorities needed to ensure the people remained safe. As soon as environmental officials knew the source of the pollution, that information would be shared.
-with AAP
