Jon Runyan Wants To Know Who's Responsible For Medical Waste On LBI
By David Madden
LONG BEACH ISLAND, N.J. (CBS) - Nine miles worth of oceanfront on Long Beach Island was shut down for a part of last weekend when medical waste started washing up on shore. A local congressman wants to get to the bottom of who was responsible for that.
The source of what Ocean County health officials labeled "home generated" insulin syringes and other waste isn't clear. But it prompted a shutdown of beaches from Barnegat Light to Ship Bottom on Saturday. By Sunday…all was back to normal. But Congressman Jon Runyan fired off a letter to EPA administrator Lisa Jackson yesterday requesting a formal investigation.
"The very beginning of the beach season, you really can't have this kind of stuff showing up."
It's thought the material may have originated in the North Jersey-New York area or maybe from local sewage overflow systems.
Runyan is worried that shore businesses, highly dependent on tourism, might be hurt with a repeat occurrence.
"Our tourism season is so limited, being in the Northeast, we have to be very conscious of it and obviously we don't want things like this to happen."
