Syringes discovered; 5 Ocean City beaches closed

As many as five syringes were found on the sand in Ocean City yesterday, prompting officials to close five swimming beaches in the Cape May County resort.

The discovery came just one day after Avalon reopened its beaches following the third discovery of medical waste there since Saturday.

Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office, said the needles in Ocean City did not appear to be from the same source as those found in Avalon. Two of the syringes were a different type from those found earlier this week, he said.

It was unclear yesterday whether the needles in Ocean City came in with the tide or were left behind by beachgoers, authorities said.

Town officials said the beaches have been cleaned and are expected to reopen today.

The Attorney General's Office, which is investigating the source of the debris in Avalon, knew of two syringes found in Ocean City on the beach between 38th and 40th Streets yesterday morning.

But three more syringes turned up later between 45th and 46th Streets, according to the Cape May County Department of Health.

In addition, the stretch between 38th and 41st streets was strewn with what police said was sun-bleached seaweed, but some beachgoers said appeared to be hunks of shredded plastic and plastic foam mixed with seaweed. The material also washed up near Corson's Inlet State Park, at the southern tip of Ocean City.

Matt Pfaeffli, 23, of the Ocean City Beach Patrol, said yesterday afternoon that no one knew how the material ended up on the beach.

"We're just trying to keep people away from it until it can be cleaned up," Pfaeffli said.

The Attorney General's Office had not heard of the litter yesterday.

The state has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for the Avalon pollution.

Avalon beaches have been shut down three times since Saturday, when between 100 and 200 syringes washed up on the sand, along with gauze and other medical supplies. The beach was cleaned and reopened, but more waste appeared on Sunday and Tuesday, prompting the additional closings.

The discoveries have proved worrisome for residents of the shore towns, which count the long Labor Day weekend as one of the busiest times of year.

For some, the medical waste has conjured up unpleasant memories of the Shore in the mid-1980s, when pollution was rampant and the ocean frequently deposited needles, garbage, and drums of chemicals on the sand.

"We have not seen anything like this for the past two decades, in terms of what Avalon is experiencing," said Darlene Yuhas, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Ocean City police said syringes appear in the sand occasionally. Aside from illegal ocean dumping, there are other possible explanations for how the needles got there, Yuhas said.

Diabetics who use syringes for insulin injections could have left them behind, or they could have been discarded by illegal-drug users. The needles could also have been tossed into a storm drain and ended up in the ocean, Yuhas said.

"It's always a public safety concern, obviously," Yuhas said. "But finding one needle in an isolated incident is not what we would classify as 'medical waste' wash-up."

Yesterday, beachgoers in Ocean City were dismayed by the closings.

"We came down here to relax and entertain our family," said Tim Feinsmith of Cherry Hill, who is visiting for 10 days. "This is very disappointing."

Jerry Meis of Wayne warned his sons to stay away from the plasticlike material on the beach.

"It will be interesting to learn where this all came from," Meis said. "If someone is doing this on purpose, it won't change how we feel about the Shore. We've been coming here our whole lives, so it's not going to color our opinion of the place."

The Avalon beaches have been open since Wednesday, and a city spokesman said that a thorough sweep of the sand yesterday morning yielded nothing.

Anyone who has any information about the dumping of medical waste in the ocean is encouraged to call the statewide tip line at 1-866-847-7425.