Investigations are underway into how two Sydney beaches ended up covered in toxic black balls of tar. Both Coogee Beach and Gordons Bay remain closed and the New South Wales environment protection authority is investigating whether the substance is from a boat leaking oil.
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00:00They're the size of an apple, some larger than others and they're easy to pull apart
00:09but not so easy to identify.
00:11The substance was discovered at Gordons Bay today after first being spotted at neighbouring
00:17Coogee Beach yesterday, puzzling both the marine science community and local residents.
00:23I've been here for quite a few years and there's never been anything like that.
00:26I've seen a load of rubbish, you haven't seen this stuff, and we didn't know what it looked like.
00:30Just come down for a swim as we do every morning at 6 o'clock after a run and yeah, we couldn't swim.
00:37Teams from several New South Wales government agencies and the local council have gathered
00:42samples for laboratory testing.
00:45This is the first time that an incident such as this that we're aware of has happened in
00:48the Randwick Council area.
00:50Lifeguards patrolling off Coogee saw an oil-like substance in the water and later the Randwick
00:56Council revealed preliminary tests confirmed the material as a hydrocarbon-based pollutant.
01:02When oil spills in the ocean, over time it forms these what we call tar balls, so clumps
01:08of oil pollution effectively.
01:11High tide is at 8 tonight and it's expected to wash more of these tar balls onto the shores
01:17here at Gordons Bay and at Coogee.
01:20That means beach goers might be waiting some time before being able to swim again.
01:26What's complicating that assessment is that it's really only Coogee and Gordons Bay where
01:30you see the pollution.
01:31That would suggest a much more localised source, just a boat literally only a few hundred metres
01:38off the coast.
01:39It's not yet known the scale or origin of this toxic substance, but a clean-up is now
01:44underway at both beaches.