Orange Goo in Alaska Identified

It's some kind of eggs ... that may or may not be toxic
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 8, 2011 7:18 PM CDT
Updated Aug 13, 2011 7:04 AM CDT
Orange Goo in Alaska Identified
This Aug. 6, 2011 photo shows a magnified close up of orange gunk. Samples were collected last week in the remote village of Kivalina, and were determined to be some kind of microscopic eggs.   (AP Photo/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Mandy Lindeberg)

We have a partial answer to the orange goo that started washing up in Alaska last week, and it's definitely not the secret to John Boehner's perma-tan. It's eggs—millions of tiny eggs filled with fatty droplets, reports the AP. Exactly what kind of eggs—or whether they're toxic—has yet to be determined, according to NOAA, which ran the initial tests. The eggs, which appeared in a lagoon and river near the tiny village of Kivalina, have since dissipated.

"It seems to be all gone," says a village official. "But if they're microscopic eggs, who's to say they're not still in the river?" The orange goo, which turned powdery when dried, was pervasive, showing up on one roof and in rainwater buckets. "You couldn't miss it for nothing," says one resident. Further tests are pending. (More Alaska stories.)

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