Even more mysterious balls have washed up in NSW, just months after several Sydney beaches were closed by toxic debris.
Dozens of similar objects have been detected on six beaches near Dalmeny and Narooma on the NSW south coast over the past week.
NSW Environmental Protection Authority has confirmed it is aware of the latest items to have washed up 350km from Sydney.
“The debris balls are currently being stored at a licensed waste facility on the South Coast and we are testing them as part of our waste classification process,” the spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday evening.
“We test them… to determine how to dispose of them.
“We are carrying out tests to determine what the debris balls found at Dalmeny and Mystery Bay are made of and until those tests are completed we cannot confirm their contents.”
It comes after the EPA revealed last Friday that 20 balls were found on Pooles Beach near Narooma on December 11.
That same day, more balls were found along a 200-yard stretch at nearby 1080 Beach.
The worrying discovery comes after poisonous black balls washed up on seven beaches in Sydney’s east in October Bondi, Coogee and Maroubra.
The latest debris balls to be washed from NSW beaches are currently being tested
The mysterious objects (pictured) were found on six beaches near Dalmeny and Narooma on the NSW south coast
Affected beaches were closed as health and safety workers searched the areas for the strange debris.
Tests showed the balls were likely made of drugs, human feces and chemicals, but experts were unable to determine the source of the contamination.
Chemical analysis also showed that the spheres contained traces of drugs, including THC from cannabis and even methamphetamine.
Further investigation also found traces of cooking oil and soap. The debris was also discovered in Kiama in November.
The debris forced officials to close several beaches on the NSW south coast last week over public safety concerns, but they have since reopened.
Narooma Chamber of Commerce president Stephanie Dibden said the presence of the debris was the last thing tourism operators needed with Christmas just a week away.
Business leaders fear mysterious items found on beaches on NSW’s south coast could impact tourism over the Christmas period
“We rely on this six-week Christmas period for the majority of our trading all year round,” Ms Dibden told the newspaper. ABC.
‘It will cast a great shadow of disappointment on the tourists who come especially to the beach.
“Something like that could even deter people from coming.”
Experts have warned the issue poses major risks to people visiting beaches in the area, and they believe the balls may have drifted from Sydney to the south coast.
The EPA previously said it is unclear where the balls came from due to a lack of comparable samples.
“Experts could not determine where the balls came from because no source samples were available for comparison,” they said.
In November, University of NSW associate professor Jon Beves, who conducted the tests on the balls found on Sydney beaches, said they were not formed by an oil spill as many thought.
The discovery forced officials to close several beaches along the state’s southern coast last week over public safety concerns (photo from Narooma).
“Our analyzes show that the material is not natural and cannot be attributed exclusively to an oil spill,” said Professor Beves.
“It is most similar to human-generated waste.”
The EPA has urged people who have found similar spherical debris not to pick it up and to notify authorities.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the EPA for further comment.