Lumps of unknown substance wash up along Hiiumaa coast

TALLINN - Fist-sized and smaller lumps that stain, are sticky and gray in color and have a slight odor of grease have washed ashore on a 20-kilometer strip on the northern coast of the Kopu peninsula on Estonia's large western island of Hiiumaa.

Marek Pold, head of the Hiiumaa office of the Environmental Board, said that the sticky gray substance has been found on the Kopu peninsula on a strip from Ristna to Palli beach on the northern coast and also to a lesser extent on the beach of RMK's Kaleste recreational area on the peninsula's southern coast.

"Caution is advised on said beaches because the grayish lumps stain and are very sticky and not easily removed with soap or dish washing detergent," Pold said. "Samples of the substance have been collected and sent to a laboratory and the results can be expected in a few days. It is currently difficult to estimate what this substance could be but in any case, contact with it should be avoided," Pold said, adding that it is also recommended not to bring pets or small children to beaches on the peninsula's northern coast.

Further course of action regarding the pollution on Kopu peninsula will be decided in cooperation between the Hiiumaa rural municipality government, Environmental Board and Rescue Board after results of laboratory analyses have been delivered.