Needles, Syringes Wash Up On 2 Beaches Near Point Pleasant

Just when you thought it was safe to back in the water...

Officials from the Jersey Shore are saying it is actually safe to go into the water after more than two dozen needles and syringes were found at two beaches over the past week.

The news comes just as three beaches were at risk of closing because of bacteria typically found in human and animal waste. Read more: 3 NJ Beaches At Risk Of Closing Due To Fecal Bacteria, DEP Says

About two dozen needles washed up on the beaches near Lyman Avenue over the past two days, Mantoloking Police Chief Stacy Ferris told Patch.

News12 reported that syringes also washed up in Lavallette, and the town's beach superintendent confirmed it. The material had been removed by Thursday morning.

Ferris said a northeast wind apparently caused the medical waste to wash up along the waterline. She urged people to exercise caution and not pick up the needles with their bare hands.

Ferris said some of the medical waste could still be in the water, but the beach is not closed.

"We're just asking everyone to exercise caution," she said. "We don't know where they're coming from."

The washup comes a month after 13 beaches were closed because of medical waste, including needles and syringes. Read more: 13 Jersey Shore Beaches Closed After Needles, Syringes Washed Up

At the time, state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Larry Hajna said medical waste cane come from a mixture of materials that gets "washed or flushed into sewer lines".

Those items can be anything that "wash off the streets or things that get flushed down the toilet," Hajna said then, adding that those items could include diabetic needles, tampon applicators, paper and bottles.

"The syringes are typically those used for diabetes treatment that people flush down the toilet," he said then. "When there's too much stormwater runoff, the systems discharge the combined flow containing these materials from overflow outfalls.

Photos courtesy of Robert Siliato, showing needles found on beaches in July.