Sydney beaches closed due to toxic 'tar balls'

By Alasdair Pal and Jill Gralow

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Beaches in Sydney including the iconic Bondi were closed to bathers on Thursday after hundreds of black balls suspected to be toxic washed up on the city's shores.

Waverley Council said it had closed Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches as a precaution, while neighbouring Randwick Council has closed an additional four beaches to the south. Bondi and Maroubra Beach to the south were later reopened.

“The wellbeing of our community is paramount. That's why Council has taken the precaution to close our beaches,” Waverley Mayor Will Nemesh said in a statement.

Preliminary testing by Randwick Council suggests the mystery items were “tar balls” – lumps of oil and debris.

"We've got so many pollutants in the atmosphere, so many pollutants on the boats, so many pollutants, plastic, it's going to come to our beaches, it's everywhere else in the world unfortunately," said Monica O'Connell, a resident of Coogee, one of the beaches closed by Randwick Council.

New South Wales state's Environment Protection Authority said it was conducting its own tests, advising against swimming near or touching any of the balls.

Sydney is home to over 100 beaches in its harbour and along its oceanfront that are famous across the world, attracting millions of tourists and locals each year.

(Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Stephen Coates)