Forget sharks and jellyfish—your next beach trip might include a free hypodermic needle. While most beachgoers fret over the usual suspects like great whites and riptides, Delaware and Maryland shores are serving up a much gnarlier threat, and it’s putting an unfortunate end to summer.
On Monday, medical waste washed up the Delmarva coastline from Lewes in Delaware down to Ocean City and Assateague State Park in Maryland. Among that waste were needles, which were reportedly found across several beaches.
“Assateague State Park, along with other beaches along the Maryland coast, is experiencing a significant amount of medical waste washing onshore,” said a post from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources on Facebook. “Access to the ocean will be restricted at this time. No swimming, wading, surfing, or any activities in the ocean are permitted. Visitors to the beach should wear shoes and use an abundance of caution.”
Reports of medical waste first surfaced on Sunday and have continued to pop up in the passing days. On Tuesday, a few other shore towns, including South Bethany and Lewes in Delaware, closed their beaches. Rehoboth Beach reportedly found two exposed syringes with hypodermic needles along with “several pieces of pill bottles and caps to medicine bottles,” according to ABC 47.
The ocean remained closed in Ocean City on Tuesday, according to ABC 47. The town is working with the health department to have the water open by the weekend.
Fortunately for most of these towns, the peak beach season has come and gone, and the out-of-towners are predominantly home for the fall. That being said, the areas still garner plenty of tourism in the early months of the offseason, so this certainly is a concern for these towns in more than one way.
The source of this debris remains unknown. A Facebook post by Assateague Island National Seashore confirmed that medical waste had come ashore and that they “currently have no idea where it came from and will not be speculating” on its origins. They also are unsure how long this will last because no one knows exactly how many more syringes and needles are floating around the ocean.
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