Aug 17, 2007 9:24 pm US/Eastern
Syringes, Medical Waste Wash Ashore On NY Beach
JONES BEACH, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Lifeguards on Jones Beach made a frightening discovery when more than a dozen syringes washed ashore. (File)
CBS
Jones Beach lifeguards in New York made an alarming discovery Thursday that had health officials feverishly scouring the area on Friday, before the weekend beach traffic hit the shores.
More than one dozen syringes were found, along with other pieces of medical equipment, putting visitors -- especially those with children -- on high alert.
"Hopefully it's not a danger, but you really don't know," said beach-goer Mary Greene, who hails from Belrose.
The frightening discovery was made Thursday afternoon. Alert lifeguards spotted the medical waste in the water and notified officials immediately.
"We saw about 15 syringes, a couple of viles, and some pin pricks for drawing blood wash ashore," said State Parks spokesman George Gorman.
The park police at Jones Beach are now examining those medical supplies and treating them as evidence in their investigation. Officials say it is early, but so far, there does not appear any reason for alarm for beach-goers.
"It's a concern that there are syringes on the beach, but unfortunately this does happen every now and then," Gorman said.
Parents say they were relieved to hear the waste had been quickly cleaned up by officials. "A little concerned, but I did talk to my friend who's a nurse practitioner and she just said if it was really dangerous, the beaches would have been closed," said Westin, Conn. resident Eleanor Smith.
Parks officials say with the potential danger averted, there was no need to close the beaches. Still, other say they would feel safer having some key questions answered.
"None of the employees knew anything about it and that was the disappointing part," said Manhassat resident Irene Nebel.
So where could the syringes have come from? Officials say a common source is storm water run-off that washes ashore, but the latest waste remains under investigation. State environmental officials will now look into the incident with the hope of tracking down the source.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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