Workers in protective suits conduct a cleanup operation to clear petroleum-based "tar balls" washed ashore on Coogee Beach in Sydney on October 17, 2024. Lifeguards declared Sydney's famed Bondi beach and several other strands closed on October 17, as more mysterious black "tar ball" globules -- ranging from the size of peas to tennis balls -- washed up along the city's shores. Chemical testing has identified them as hydrocarbon-based tar balls, local officials said. (Photo by David GRAY / AFP) (Photo by DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images)