Mysterious blobs that washed up on N.L. beaches still have secrets to reveal, says scientist

For people curious about the mystery of the blobs washing up on Newfoundland shores, a St. John's scientist says there are still some secrets that have to be cracked.

Earlier this week, Memorial University chemistry professor Chris Kozak said his testing on the blobs — which included things like setting them on fire — had determined that the substance was polyvinyl acetate, or PVA, which is often used as an industrial adhesive or glue.

After carrying out further research through examining a sample with an analytical technique called mass spectrometry, which allows scientists to look at something in smaller components, he said he discovered the blobs also contain something else.

"When we look at the smaller components, that is consistent with PVA but also with synthetic latex rubber. So this is a mixture of synthetic isoprene and butyl rubber with PVA," Kozak told CBC Radio's The Broadcast.

"So we were right in saying it's PVA, but it also has some synthetic latex rubber in there as well."

In recent days, Kozak said he has heard from from people theorizing on the origins of the blobs, which drifted up Placentia Bay to land on several beaches. 

"I've definitely heard several theories. I've had some reasonable ones and some really out there ones," he said in an interview. 

One of the theories he's leaning toward came from someone familiar with the oil and gas industry, who suggested the blobs were connected to material used to flush sea water out of pipes in tankers and oil rigs.

"Sometimes they admit that this stuff would end up in the sea and sometimes it would end up actually going into the hold of the tanker and maybe the tanker would have expelled this," he said. 

Placentia Bay is north of widely used shipping lanes that connect North America with Europe. 

Kozak said he has learned the cleaner is "affectionately" refereed to as "seal pups." because when they come out of a tube they look like young seals. 

Kozak got involved in investigating the blobs when Hilary Corlett, an assistant professor with Memorial University's earth sciences department, reached out to him with samples.

He said one of the samples he hadn't yet analyzed was dirtier than others.

"The surface definitely looked like it was stained with oily material like crude oil," he said.