SYDNEY.- The Sydney authorities announced this Thursday the closure of a dozen beaches in the city, including the popular Bondidue to the contamination of thousands of tar ballswith sizes up to a tennis ball.
“As a precautionary measure, all beaches will remain closed until a further investigation is carried out by the Environmental Protection Authority and relevant government agencies,” Waverley Council, in eastern Sydney and where the beach is located, said in a statement. from Bondi.
Along with the city’s popular beach, which is around a kilometer long and is one of the most emblematic in Australia, the measure also affects those of Bronte and Tamarama.
“The well-being of our community is paramount,” said Waverley Mayor Will Nemesh.
In addition, four other Sydney beaches, controlled by the neighboring Randwick Council, are closed to the public due to the same pollution incident.
Tar balls alert in Sydney: what are they?
Las first tar balls They appeared on Tuesday on the beach of Coogee, Randwickand on Wednesday in Gordons Baywhile today they were also detected in Clovellyn and Maroubra.
According to preliminary analyzes ordered by Randwich Council, “the material is a hydrocarbon-based contaminant that is consistent with the composition of tar balls,” they noted in a statement.
Dressed in orange protective clothing, the Cleaning teams are already working today to locate the tar balls on Coogee beach and put them in white plastic bags with the help of a small excavator, shovels or your own hands.
For its part, the Environmental Protection Authority of the state of New South Wales, whose capital is Sydney, noted in a different statement that it carries out its own “exhaustive tests with several samples” and that at the moment it has not been able to determine what the material found is composed of.
“Until the cleanup is finished, We recommend not swimming or touching the balls “that have been able to reach the shore in the identified areas,” underlines the authority when adding Congwong, Frenchmans and Little Bay among the affected beaches.
Animals at risk from tar balls in Sydney
The environmental organization Maritime Conservation Society of Australia warned on Wednesday that the marine animalssuch as turtles or humpback whales, can be affected by these wastes if they ingest them.
“Tar balls can persist for long periods in the marine environmentand even small amounts can alter entire food chains, affecting everything from plankton to the largest predators,” the organization noted from its Facebook profile.
Sydney is home to more than 100 beaches in its harbor and along its coastline that are famous around the world and attract millions of tourists and locals each year.
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