A chemist in Canada says he has identified “with a high degree of confidence” the strange blobs that started washing up on Newfoundland’s shores months ago, although the Canadian authorities said they were still looking into it.
Globs of the white sticky substance, which have a spongy interior and range in size from a coin to a dinner plate, have been found for miles along Placentia Bay since at least September. Canada’s environmental agency began an investigation, but it has not released any conclusions.
In the meantime, researchers at Memorial University of Newfoundland, including the chemist, Chris Kozak, obtained samples and started their own inquiries.
Dr. Kozak said that one of the first things he noticed was that the blob had “a kind of petrochemical odor to it, kind of like if you walk down the turpentine aisle of your hardware store.”
At first he thought it might be polyurethane, given Newfoundland’s fishing industry and the material’s use in insulating boats. But polyurethane is less dense than water, and when it was tested, the blob sank.
A chemical analysis found that the substance contained carbon, hydrogen and oxygen but not nitrogen or sulfur, strongly suggesting it did not have a natural source. The absence of silicon, he said, ruled out silicone latex or caulking.
Finally, a mass spectrometry test, breaking up chemical chains into easier-to-study fragments, gave Dr. Kozak enough evidence to come forward, first to his local CBC radio station, with an identification.
“I’m quite confident that the sample that I handled was PVA butylene rubber,” he said in a phone interview, describing a mix of synthetic rubber and polyvinyl acetate, known as PVA. That polymer, he said, is “the active ingredient in white glue — the kind of white glue you have at home is a very dilute, kid-friendly version of this stuff.”
The mixture, he said, “suggests some sort of industrial adhesive or some sort of material that could be used in a variety of industrial sectors.”
The Canadian agency whose scientists are investigating the substance, Environment and Climate Change Canada, said in a statement that it “acknowledges the work done in parallel” by Memorial University researchers.
But the agency said that it “does not share hypotheses on the identity or origins of a substance undergoing testing, nor is it in a position to validate or substantiate the theories or findings of others.” Early tests, it has said, indicated that the blobs might be plant based.
Christopher Reddy, a marine chemist who was not involved in the investigation, said Dr. Kozak’s approach was “sound, and his conclusions are reasonable.” He called the findings “an invaluable clue” toward solving the question of where the blobs came from.
A synthetic rubber and PVA mixture would in theory be safe to handle, Dr. Kozak said, but as plastic pollution it should be cleaned up. If the material has been tainted by a toxic pollutant like crude oil, however, it should be handled with caution, he said.
The greater threat may be toward marine life, he said, especially if more of the material sank to the ocean floor.
“It could be perceived by marine life as food, looking like squid, octopus, jellyfish,” Dr. Kozak said.
The origin of the substance, and how it wound up in the ocean, remains a mystery. The bay has a long history as a center for both fishing and industry, and is home to a shipyard and oil facilities. But the substance may also have crossed vast distances before washing ashore.
“With ocean currents the way they are, this stuff could have originated in a completely different place,” Dr. Kozak said.
Oceanography, shipping and industrial data, weather events, satellite images, and research on synthetic rubber and the environment could all help determine the origin.
“Solving this case requires an ensemble cast of science and scientists,” said Dr. Reddy, of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.
And whatever the blobs turn out to be, he said, the incident offers a reminder that ocean pollutants are not limited to recognizable objects like plastic bottles, balloons, novelty phones or Legos. “They can be softer, with no definitive features, and even confused with biological materials,” he said.
Dr. Kozak said that while he planned to share his data with other scientists, his focus remained on his main research and university work. The blob investigation, he said, was “really a side quest.”
The post Chemist Identifies Mystery ‘Blobs’ Washing Up in Newfoundland appeared first on New York Times.
