Hazardous mystery balls shut down Sydney beaches

Last week, visitors to nine of Sydney, Australia's Northern Beaches encountered weird blobby balls in the sand. This is on the heels of thousands of similar black blobs turning up on Sydney's coasts in October.

According to the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority, the balls are an unholy blend of saturated fatty acids, fecal bacteria, and E. coli. The balls found in October were initially misidentified as "tar balls" that washed up from oil spills but turned out to be much grosser, containing "everything from cooking oil and soap scum molecules, to blood pressure medication, pesticides, hair, methamphetamine and veterinary drugs," according to the BBC News.

Now, Northern Beaches mayor Sue Heins says the EPA is attempting to "identify the source so that they can stop this from happening at other beaches."

The local water utility company insists that its sewage facilities are working fine.

"We are continuing to conduct regular inspections of our beaches and encourage the community to report any sightings," Heins said.

Previously:
• Bizarre mystery blobs appearing on Canada beach
• Mystery solved: why has a beach in France been blighted by washed-up parts for toy Garfield phones for more than 30 years?
• Mystery object on Santa Cruz beach was big-ass bomb