Feces and bacteria found in mystery balls on Sydney beaches

those mysterious balls Many beaches were forced to close Officials say saturated acid, E. coli and fecal bacteria were found in Sydney last week.

Sydney’s Northern Beaches Council said it had sent the debris to the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) for further analysis.

Nine beaches, including popular spots Manly and Dee Why, were closed on 14 January after marble-sized balls began washing up.

It comes just months after thousands of black spots appeared on the city’s beaches in October, prompting authorities to close some of its most famous beaches for several days and order a massive cleanup.

The latest batch of balls were cleaned from harbor beaches this week, Northern Beaches Council said in a statement on Tuesday.

It urged anyone who saw the balls not to handle them and to contact authorities.

In addition to acid and bacteria, the balls also contained the volcanic rock pumice.

Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Haynes said she hoped the EPA analysis would “identify the source so they can prevent this from happening at other beaches”.

“We are conducting regular inspections of our beaches and encourage the community to report any sightings,” he said.

First batch of debris in October These were initially mistakenly called “tar balls”, but were later found to contain everything from cooking oil and soap scum molecules to blood pressure medication, pesticides, hair, methamphetamine, and veterinary medications.

Scientists said they resemble droplets of fat, oil and grease – often called “fatbergs” – that commonly form in sewage systems.

But Sydney Water has said its water treatment schemes are running normally and there are no known problems with waste systems in the city.