Syringes in Avalon

[bababooey]

Beach closed, then open, closed, now it's finally open. Anyone ever run across hypodermics or medical waste when on the beach? I'm thinking someone had to do this on purpose, otherwise they would have washed up on the other beaches in that area.

[voyager35]

Article from AC press. I would agree with the thought that it was localized dumping and not from NY or upper Jersey. otherwise it would be lining the beaches below and above that.


State Attorney General's Office probes source of medical waste found on Avalon beaches


(Published: Thursday, August 28, 2008
)
AVALON - The state Attorney General's Office is offering a $10,000 reward for information regarding the medical waste that has closed Avalon beaches three times since it was first discovered Saturday.
The Cape May County town's beaches were open again Wednesday, but the investigation continues into the source of the mysterious medical waste that washed ashore. At 10 a.m. Wednesday, after raking all debris from the sand from Ninth Street to 32nd Street and finding no additional waste, officials gave the go-ahead to reopen the beach.
"As of now, they're clean and the beaches are open," said Kevin Thomas, director of the Cape May County Department of Health.
The state attorney general's office is working with the city of Avalon to determine the source of the waste. Officials are treating this as a criminal investigation, with sabotage being considered as one of many possible reasons for the waste.
"The investigation is ongoing," said Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office. "We've got people working on it today, and I know that because I've talked to them."
While still being considered as a cause, many doubt the medical waste was brought up by a dredge project to replenish sand on the beach. The debris found at this point has been intact and easily would have been broken in the dredging process.
Thomas, who has dealt with previous medical waste wash-ups, said he believes this batch couldn't have been that far from the beach, since it hasn't been reported in neighboring towns.
"If it was something from way out, it would be spread out in more than one municipality," Thomas said. "It wouldn't be spread in one area. To wind up on this one stretch it was probably a mile or less."
Josh Kohut, an assistant professor at the Rutgers Coastal Ocean Observation Lab, said that coastal dynamics in New Jersey are very complicated. Factors such as tides, wind patterns, freshwater runoff and blockage from sandbars all determine the patterns of currents.
"As you start getting closer to the beach, there are a lot of mechanisms that could concentrate material on the beach," Kohut said. "Because the currents are fluctuating so much, the biggest unknown is when was this stuff first put in the water?"
Kohut said that currents are coming from both the north and the south, so the medical waste could come from either direction and concentrate in Avalon. Rutgers is not involved in the investigation.
Thomas said the waste poses a minimal threat to health. For example, one of the syringes could contain traces of a virus such as hepatitis, but since it's coming from the ocean, the salt water kills off most viruses.
Officials are ready to shut down the beach again if necessary if even one more piece of medical waste appears.
"I think people are generally happy with Avalon being proactive and not reactive," said Scott Wahl, Avalon's public information officer. "Safety is first. A day at the beach is second."

[DarkSkies]

One of my friends is a surfer, found syringes yesterday at AH beaches.

Maybe they are medical waste from a landfill? Otherwise, someone is playing a very sick joke.

[bababooey]

The towns are doing a good job of damage control and making sure it's safe. If this waste is filtering in from a landfill in Staten Island or somewhere north, it will eventually hit other beaches.
The east swell and e/se wind will keep it rolling in.

Stay tuned, wouldn't be surprised if more is found in the next week.

[captnemo]

I would be inclined to accept bababooey's theory, too much to be an isolated incident.

The media implies they are aggressively searching for who did it, but my reasoning is this: if one person was behind it has a grudge against the shore towns, they would have to ceover bunch of miles unobserved, late at night, to actually dump that stuff in the places it's washing up.

Medical waste is supposed to be destroyed by law, not mixed in with the regular waste.If it's coming from the landfill areas, someone made some serious errors.

[cowherder]

Heard some needles washed up on shore there. when will this crap end?:burn:

[bababooey]

Might be close to solving the case?


Authorities search Pa. dentist's home in Shore medical waste probe

by The Associated Press Thursday September 04, 2008, 9:36 PM


Pennsylvania authorities have searched the home of a dentist who they say may have been responsible for medical waste that recently washed ashore on several New Jersey beaches.
Kevin Steele, an assistant district attorney for Montgomery County, told the Press of Atlantic City county authorities executed a search warrant at the Lower Merion Township home and assisted in the search.
The dentist, whose name was not disclosed, has not been charged in the matter, and Steele said the dentist was not at the residence when the search occurred.
However, Steele indicated to the newspaper some key evidence was secured.
"I think the (New Jersey) Attorney General's Office is going to be in pretty good shape here," Steele told the newspaper for a story posted on its Web site tonight.
The dentist owns a summer home in Avalon, one of the Jersey Shore communities where syringes, cotton swabs and other medical debris washed ashore in recent weeks. Avalon had a coastal geologist track the currents and winds after the first items were found, and he traced the source to a jetty in town, the newspaper reported.
Waste also was found at other beaches in Cape May County and at beaches in Atlantic and Ocean counties.
The New Jersey Attorney General's Office, which is leading the criminal investigation, would not discuss the latest developments.
"The investigation is ongoing," said Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the office. "We have no further comment."

[bababooey]

Found some in Brigantine as well.


Brigantine, NJ
21 hrs ago
More NJ Beaches Closed After Syringe is Found

Beaches in Brigantine were closed for a few hours after a syringe and other medical waste was found near the shoreline.

[bababooey]

Mystery solved.Pretty bonehead move, he shoulda asked Tony Soprano how to bury stuff.:laugh:

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, N.J. -- A Pennsylvania dentist has been charged with dumping medical waste that sullied a New Jersey beach at the height of vacation season.
Authorities say Thomas McFarland took his motorboat to Townsend Inlet near Avalon on Aug. 22 and dumped a bag full of needles, gauze pads and other materials from his Wynnewood, Pa., dental office.
He is charged with unlawfully discharging a pollutant and unlawful disposal of regulated medical waste. Each charge carries a maximum prison term of five years.
New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram said a complaint was served on his lawyer Friday.
According to police affidavits, McFarland admitted tossing the material from his boat. He has been licensed in Pennsylvania for more than 30 years and has homes in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

[surferman]

Why would a man with a solid 30 years of being a dentist risk losing his license and going to jail over a bag of medical waste? Something must be going in his personal life.