Mystery of blobs washing up on Newfoundland’s beaches solved, as scientists pinpoint chemical

The mystery behind white blobs washing ashore on eastern Newfoundland’s beaches that gripped public attention this fall — and commanded international media interest along the way — has been figured out, according to a St. John’s scientist. 

In early September, people began finding white, sponge-like substances on beaches in Placentia Bay. 

Speculation about the blobs included discharged waste and fats — although Memorial University chemistry professor Chris Kozak has narrowed it down.

“It’s man-made. It’s not natural,” Kozak told CBC Radio’s The Broadcast.

“There was no nitrogen or sulphur in it… I think what I’ve nailed it down to is a polyvinyl acetate.” 

Hilary Corlett, an assistant professor with Memorial University’s earth sciences department, had already taken some samples and had theorized the blobs were man-made.

She reached out to Kozak, who confirmed it — and more.

“It might have been an industrial adhesive or something like that at one point and it ended up in the ocean,” he added.

Also known as PVA, this material had undergone a “cross-linking process” to turn it into its current state.

Kozak said the blobs aren’t coming from a common adhesive Elmer’s glue, which contains PVA, or Borax, which is used in children’s crafts to make a rubbery-slime substance.

“This is not some school kids science experiment that’s gone awry — but it’s a similar sort of thing,” he said. 

WATCH |  Egads, they got it! This is what those white blobs are:

Here’s what those mystery white blobs are made of

They washed up on several beaches in Newfoundland, and theories began to emerge. Latex? A weird jellyfish? Several organizations tried to determine what the substance was, and thanks to two MUN scientists, the mystery has been solved. The CBC’s Paula Gale and Jeremy Eaton played detective.

Kozak said PVA’s most common use is in adhesives, glue, thin films and protective coatings, including in certain nail polish coatings.

“But on such a large scale, this would be a type of industrial adhesive,” he said.

At this point he said he wouldn’t be able to say where the blobs originated, and said the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and others will need to track that down. 

“I think that’s up to the DFO and other organizations to have a look at where this could come from. But I recommend they look at large uses of adhesive industrially in the region,” Kozak said.

He said he plans to reach out to the government with his findings.

Unraveling mystery

Corlett said she became intrigued with the so-called mystery blobs washing up in Placentia Bay and decided to investigate. One day she went to Arnold’s Cove and collected samples and quickly noticed some of its physical features.

“One of the blobs in particular that I picked up really piqued my interest because I could see that there were pebbles embedded in it,” said Corlett.

Figuring it could be man-made, she then reached out to her colleague Kozak for help to analyze it further.

“And I said, ‘Great! This is what I do, love it.’ So send me the samples,'” Kozak said.

He started on a battery of tests and brought in graduate students — calling it Project Unknown Glob — to help determine what it was.

It included testing it for hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur, as well as setting it on fire to see if it would melt.

‘I definitely wouldn’t eat it’

Kozak said the substance is perfectly safe to handle in its current stable form.

“I definitely wouldn’t eat it, but I’ve been able to handle it. It’s fine,” he said. 

“In its cured form, it’s pretty, pretty stable. It’s not going to get into your skin,” he said. “It still has a bit of a volatile odour to it. I wouldn’t use it as a bath sponge.”

For anyone who comes across the blobs on the beach, he advised them to toss it into a garbage bin or collect it for DFO. He’s also worried that animals might confuse the blobs for jellyfish and try to eat them.

“I would call this plastic pollution. So it’s certainly a pollutant. You don’t want it out there.”

Corlett said she’s heard from people living in the Placentia Bay area who are worried about where this substance is coming from.

“It’s important that we try and use the tools we have at Memorial to figure this out for them, because it must be disturbing,” she said, adding longtime residents had said they had never seen such a substance before on their shores. 

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.