Two other Sydney beaches have been closed to the public after balls of black tar appeared along the coast.
The “unusual” spheres were first discovered along Coogee Beach on Tuesday, prompting Randwick Council to immediately close the beach while testing was carried out.
Gordons Bay, Clovelly Beach and Maroubra Beach have since been closed to the public.
The four beaches will be closed until further notice.
Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker said the Council would continue to remove material from all beaches throughout Thursday.
‘Community safety is our first priority. That is why the City Council has taken the precaution of closing these beaches while we collect and safely dispose of this material.
“We still do not know what has happened to cause the debris to reach our beaches, but we will continue to work with the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of the public and clean our beaches.”
Preliminary results showed that the material in the “unusual” spheres was “a hydrocarbon-based contaminant that is consistent with the composition of tar balls.”
Two other Sydney beaches have been closed to the public after balls of black tar appeared along the coast. Pictured is Coogee Beach.
Tar balls that appeared on Coogee beach (pictured) have led to its closure until further notice.
Cleanup efforts began Wednesday to safely remove and dispose of debris from popular beaches.
Mr Parker said council staff have been working closely with the NSW Environmental Protection Agency, Port Authority and NSW Transport to assist in the clean-up response.
Although it is not yet known where the tar balls came from, the council will continue to work with all relevant authorities as necessary.
“Our community is rightly very protective of our natural environment and this has been a very concerning incident,” the mayor said.
“We have engaged an expert occupational hygienist and a specialist waste removal contractor who are currently systematically removing debris from beaches in accordance with an agreed safe work method statement developed with the NSW EPA.”
He thanked the NSW public for staying off the beach as testing and clean-up efforts continue.
