Syringes Washed Up On Monmouth County Beach

BELMAR, NJ — Several syringes washed ashore Wednesday on the beach at Belmar, the Belmar/Lake Como Office of Emergency Management reported.

The syringes were discovered along the water's edge after the afternoon high tide, said Belmar OEM. They said it was only a few syringes, and did not specify on which beach this occurred.

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"Belmar OEM was made aware of debris washing ashore during this afternoon's high tide cycle," Belmar/Lake Como OEM posted to Facebook Wednesday. "Among the debris, several syringes were discovered along the water's edge."

The town notified the Monmouth County Health Dept. and the syringes were immediately removed.

"Additional beach sweeps will be conducted tomorrow (Thursday) morning and (Thursday) afternoon following the high tide cycles," said the town of Belmar. "The NJ DEP has also been made aware of the incident. If you locate a syringe or other potentially hazardous debris, please contact the Belmar Police Department 732-681-1700 so it can be safely removed and disposed of."

In late August, about 60 medical syringes washed up on the beach in Manasquan, along with a bunch of household trash. And a smaller amount of syringes also washed ashore in Seaside Park and Point Pleasant Beach.

The medical needles, used for things such as at-home insulin injections, likely came from sewer overflows in the northern part of the state and were carried by the wind and currents down the Jersey Shore, a DEP spokesman said at the time.

Older sewers in parts of New Jersey often flood and overflow their contents into the ocean. It's a common phenomenon.

Needles Found On Beaches In Manasquan, Point Pleasant, Seaside Park (Aug. 25)