Medical waste more abundant, group says
Beach cleanup organization’s founder says problem has been getting worse; mayor sends letter to health official suggesting public education campaign.
Blood vials, syringes, IV pouches, hypodermic needles and even surgical knives are washing up, but the source is still unclear.
PALM BEACH — Blood vials, syringes, IV pouches, hypodermic needles and even surgical knives are washing up on town beaches.
It’s always been a problem, but lately, the medical refuse is more abundant, said Diane Buhler, founder of the Friends of Palm Beach group that volunteers to pick up trash on town beaches.
“When the lancets started to wash in, it took it to another level for us,” Buhler said in an email. “We hadn’t seen them in the last four years. The amount of medical waste [is] more abundant in all types ... but the lancets ... made it more abhorrent.”
Beach cleanup volunteers to the north and south of Palm Beach aren’t seeing nearly as much of the medical debris as the island, Buhler told the Town Council last month.
There’s no state or county agency that takes responsibility for stopping the dumping, she said.
Buhler said she will collaborate with students at Florida Atlantic University to try to determine the origin of the refuse, but it’s not easy. “My theory is it’s ships, dumping out to sea,” she said. “But it’s just bigger than me to figure out where this stuff is coming from.”
Buhler said she has traced some of the medical labels to Cuba. Some of the hypodermic needles were made for horses.
The Gulf Stream current, which picks up and carries the refuse, flows closer to Palm Beach County than anywhere else in Florida. Town Manager Kirk Blouin, who joined the town as a police officer in 1989, said there’s been evidence over the years that refuse found on the town’s shore has been dumped from military ships.
Buhler asked the council for help. At the council’s request, Mayor Gail Coniglio sent a letter Tuesday to Alina Alonso, director of the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County, suggesting it launch a campaign educating the public on proper disposal methods and protocol when encountering medical waste on the beach.
She noted in the letter that Palm Beach is an international destination and “this is an obvious health and safety concern for the residents and visitors who visit our beaches every day,” she wrote.
Councilman Lew Crampton, who once worked for the fed-
eral Environmental Protection Agency, said there are laws against dumping in the ocean, leading him to believe the problem is with enforcement.
“I’m sure we’re not the only community getting this crap on our beaches,” he said.
“We ought to make more noise and even develop a strategy. ... This is an insult to our town and our quality of life. You walk along the beach and run into this stuff. It’s disgusting.”
“It’s not just disgusting, it’s dangerous,” Councilwoman Julie Araskog said.
On Florida’s Atlantic coast, state waters extend from the shore to 3 nautical miles out. In most places, federal waters start when state waters end and go out to about 200 nautical miles, or where another country’s waters begin.
But Araskog pointed out that the council doesn’t know the laws that govern offshore dumping.
Councilwoman Bobbie Lindsay said a mayoral letter is the way to start. “Let’s have the mayor raise the awareness level. Education is the first step.”
She also suggested taking pictures of the refuse and sending them to the armed forces. “Tell them it’s increasing and ask them to do something about it,” she said.
Crampton said the town can’t sit idle any longer.
“It’s time to take some action — to tell the world about this problem and to solve it as well,” he said.