‘Blobs’ that closed Australian beaches were made of poop, weed, and meth, scientists say
Thousands of black blobs that washed up on several beaches in Sydney, Australia, were made of thousands of compounds, including human fecal waste, cooking oils, marijuana, meth, and more. (Randwick City Council via Storyful)
Thousands of mysterious blobs that washed ashore and shut down several beaches in Sydney, Australia, ended up being made of poop, marijuana and methamphetamines, scientists said.
The black balls washed up on Coogee Beach last month and were believed to be made up of tar, according to ABC News.
However, after testing was conducted, it was determined the balls consisted of cooking oils, traces of weed, meth, fossil fuels, soap scum, PFAS, pesticides, veterinary drugs and human feces, among other things.
"We found the sticky spheres contained hundreds of different compounds," Associate Professor Jon Beves, from the School of Chemistry at the University of New South Wales, said. Beves was one of the scientists who analyzed the mysterious black balls.
FILE - Scientists from the University of New South Wales investigated the makeup of the black balls. (Randwick City Council via Storyful)
Where did the blobs come from?
Scientists aren’t certain where the blobs came from, however, they suspect they may be the result of pollution, Beves told ABC News.
"It’s definitely not from an oil spill. It’s human-generated waste or pollution that somehow made it into the water," he said.
Sydney Water reported that there were no known issues with Sydney Water plants, according to the university.