OCEAN CITY, Md. — Officials warned people to stay out of the ocean at several beaches in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia after they said medical waste, including hypodermic needles, washed ashore. The source of the waste was under investigation.
Officials banned swimming, wading and surfing at Assateague State Park on Sunday morning after Maryland Park Service rangers found several needles and needle caps, feminine hygiene products and cigar tips along the beach, Maryland Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Gregg Bortz said in an email.
A few more needles were found Monday, and the ban on swimming in the ocean continued at the park, he said.
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.
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All of Assateague Island National Seashore’s ocean-facing beaches in Maryland and Virginia were closed to swimming and wading.
Maryland’s Department of Emergency Management raised its state activation level to “partial” in support of the incident.
In Ocean City, the beach patrol temporarily banned swimming Sunday after discovering medical waste on town beaches. Emergency Services Director Joe Theobald stressed in a statement that the situation was serious and said town officials were working with the Worcester County Health Department to investigate the source.
“Until we are confident that the situation is under control, we recommend wearing shoes on the beach and avoiding the ocean entirely,” he said.
On Monday afternoon, Theobald said the amount of debris had “significantly decreased.” The town was continuing to monitor the situation, particularly as the next high tide cycles approached Monday evening and Tuesday morning.
Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control advised beachgoers to leave the beaches from the Indian River inlet to Fenwick Island on Sunday afternoon and to refrain from swimming after reports of waste washing ashore on nearby Maryland beaches, the agency said in a statement. The department confirmed only minimal waste on Delaware beaches, including plastic caps and a single needle found near Dewey Beach.
“Despite the low level of waste observed, DNREC is taking the situation seriously and advising caution,” the agency said in a statement. The department maintains Delaware’s two state park beaches, but decisions about municipal beaches are up to town officials.
Delaware’s Dewey Beach temporarily barred swimming in the ocean on Sunday. In a Monday update, the town said it was continuing to address the issue. Fenwick Island officials closed the beach for swimming on Sunday and said in a statement that beaches would be inspected again late Monday and on Tuesday morning before a decision would be made on reopening.
From the Archives: In 1974, a Richmond music festival turned into a full-on riot
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-28-1974: Cherry Blossom Rock Festival riot.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
By the time the riot was quelled, two dozen Richmond police officers and a dozen concertgoers were sent to the emergency room; 76 people were arrested, 23 of them juveniles; and 106 charges were placed, 42 of which were for possession of marijuana.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
Football helmets and baseball bats were reported missing after the riot at the Cherry Blossom Rock Festival in Richmond.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-29-1974 (cutline): Tensions exploded yesterday along this exit lane near the Fountain Lake. The crowd had moved off the roadway in late afternoon when photo was taken.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-27-1974 (cutline): Policemen armed with night sticks watch spectators in stands.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
Riot police arrived in two buses on April 28, 1974.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-29-1974 (cutline): Crowd of approximately 14,000 persons fills field at City Stadium during rock music festival. First day of scheduled two-day outdoor music festival here brought riots which caused cancellation of second day’s show.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
Bubble blowing was a pastime for a girl earlier on that Sunday of the riot.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-27-1974 (cutline): Nude man enthusiastically endorses performance of band before disturbance.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-28-1974 (cutline): Roof of police car is battered in at peak of trouble. Near-riot at City Stadium left nearly a dozen cars damaged.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-29-1974 (cutline): Trash can shatters windshield of city vehicle as youths (center) attempt to overturn it. Automobile was one of nine cars destroyed by angry crowd after arrests began.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-28-1974 (cutline): Youth lashed out at city car after it was set afire by vandals.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-27-1974 (cutline): Young man raises peace sign at City Stadium–to no avail.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-29-1974 (cutline): Police officer leads injured youth from City Stadium melee. Young man was treated on the scene after he was arrested Saturday.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-28-1974 (cutline): Newsman Bill Wasson in bandages after he said he was hit by policeman.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-28-1974 (cutline): Cars were tipped over as disturbance reached near-riot proportions.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-28-1974 (cutline): An aerial view shows the crowded stadium field.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-28-1974 (cutline): Rock festival spectators wreck city vehicles with tools taken from stadium building.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-29-1974 (cutline): City police officers watch last part of crowd leave City Stadium after concert. Although debris was scattered everywhere, order had been restored when music program ended.
Cherry Blossom Rock Festival
04-28-1974: Concert attendee pleads with crowds from stands with policemen standing in the back.
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In April 1974, an impromptu jam session broke out at Byrd Park in Richmond — which became a gathering spot for music fans after Cherry Blossom Music Festival at City Stadium ended early. The day before, a drug arrest in the stands touched off violence between police and festival-goers, which scuttled the festival’s second day.
