A number of beaches along the Maryland and Virginia coastlines remain closed to swimmers, waders and surfers as state, local and federal agencies investigate how medical waste and other trash washed up along shorelines stretching from Delaware to Virginia.
Hugh Hawthorne, the superintendent of Assateague Island National Seashore, which includes a 37-mile stretch from Maryland to Virginia, told WTOP that it’s not clear when the beaches there could reopen.
“The stuff has to stop arriving on the beach and then we have to do a thorough cleanup of the main swimming areas before we can reopen,” Hawthorne said.
“Our oceanside beaches remain closed on the entire island as of right now,” said Hawthorne. “It’s a lot of plastic debris but it includes a large component of medical waste,” Hawthorne said.
The medical waste, including used hypodermic needles, first started appearing early Sunday morning.
Hawthorne said volunteers have asked how they could help, but he advised, “People should not be picking up these things, especially the needles, without proper protective equipment,” something NPS staff has been issued as they clean up the beaches.
On Monday, officials in Ocean City, Maryland, posted information on their website saying that “considerably less” medical waste was found on the beaches there, but that “out of an abundance of caution, the ocean will remain closed to swimming and surfing at this time.”
This comes after there was waste washing ashore over the weekend in Ocean City.
Gregg Bortz, spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, told WTOP in an email that, “The Department of Natural Resources is coordinating with other local, state, and federal agencies to determine when it’s safe for people to swim and enter the water.”
There have been no reports of injuries or people encountering these items while swimming, Bortz said. The department was working with other local, state, and federal agencies to determine when it’s safe for people to enter the water.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control responded to questions from WTOP with an email explaining that, “So far, DNREC has confirmed only minimal waste on Delaware beaches, including plastic caps and a single needle found near Dewey Beach,” but despite the low level of waste observed, “DNREC is taking the situation seriously and advising caution.”
Officials at DNREC explained that it maintains two state park beaches and that decisions to open or close municipal beaches are made at the municipal level. Anyone spotting medical waste on Delaware beaches can call DNREC’s environmental hotline at 800-662-8802.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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