Cancer alarm over mystery black balls that shut down Sydney’s Coogee Beach

A marine expert has revealed the likely source of hundreds of mysterious black balls that have washed up on Sydney’s Coogee Beach – and warned they could be carcinogenic.

The popular beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs was immediately closed after lifeguards discovered the worrying discovery on Tuesday.

“It looks like tar balls or oliebollen,” marine biologist Lawrence Chlebeck told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.

‘This is what happens when there is an oil spill or oil release. It can come from man-made sources or from natural sources.”

Mr Chlebeck said such balls form in the same way as pearls in oysters.

“These things sit in the water for a long time, they clump around a little piece of debris, whether it’s a piece of plastic or a stick or something, and they coalesce around one of these things,” he said.

“And then, due to storms or currents, they can wash ashore, so it could have been traveling for a long time and could have come from very far away.”

The marine biologist said it was rare for such balls to wash up on Australian shores and more common in the United States.

Randwick Council workers are cleaning up Coogee Beach in Sydney’s east

“In several parts of the world where there’s a lot of oil and gas exploration going on just offshore, for example in the Gulf of Mexico, these things are found quite commonly on beaches in Texas and Louisiana,” he said.

“If certain oil and gas exploration projects off the coast of Sydney go ahead, as they have been discussed in the not-too-distant past, we could see more of this kind of thing happening.”

Mr Chlebeck warned that the black balls ‘could certainly be carcinogenic’.

“Coogee Beach was closed because of that issue. (The balls) can also affect the feathers of birds, preventing them from drying and drowning,” he said.

Although wildlife usually knows to stay away from the balls, sometimes curiosity gets the better of humans and they can’t resist touching them.

The marine expert advised beachgoers who come into contact with the balls to clean the area with dish soap.

“Those anti-oil coating substances in dish soap are probably the best thing you can do to get it off,” Mr Chlebeck said.

“But people should definitely avoid that beach for now and avoid swimming in areas where they might be floating.”

Randwick Council Mayor Dylan Parker said the balls were analyzed with results coming back within a day or the next two days.

‘There appears to be an oil leak, but this is still being investigated. Initial reports appear to indicate some form of oil spill or pollution,” he said.

Coogee Beach in Sydney’s east (pictured) remains closed until further notice

Randwick Council suspects the material (pictured on Tuesday) may be ‘tar balls’

The beach will remain closed until further notice for the safety of the community, Mr Parker said.

“They look like tar balls,” he said. ‘If it is possibly oil, it is not safe to touch or consume. It could potentially be carcinogenic.”

Randwick Council is liaising with the NSW Environment Protection Agency, Beach Watch NSW and other relevant agencies about when it will be safe to reopen the beach.

“This has never happened before,” the mayor said.

‘At this stage it is unknown what the material is, but it could be ‘tar balls’ which are formed when oil comes into contact with debris and water, usually as a result of oil spills or leakage.’

A further update from the council is expected later on Wednesday.

Coogee is one of Sydney’s most popular beaches and a tourist hotspot.