Dockweiler State Beach closed after medical waste washes ashore

The beaches were closed to the public after a number of items washed ashore.

The closure was announced Wednesday evening when the waste was spotted in the sand along the almost 4-mile-long beach.

The Los Angeles County Department of Sanitation says to avoid the water at Mothers Beach in Marina del Rey and Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades.

Warning signs have been placed around the area, informing people of the situation.

Crews worked through the night to clear the debris, but the beach will remain closed until further notice. The origin of the debris remains under investigation. She also said the waste didn’t pose any threat to the public.

The medical and other waste had been discharged from the Hyperion Treatment Plant, according to Heal the Bay, an environmental activist and water monitoring group.

Hyperion is designed to capture solid waste and the pipelines are supposed to discharge only treated wastewater. The group also tweeted out a photo, showing what looked like a tampon applicator floating in the water.

“It may have been sitting there and as a result, the heavy rain storm and first flush of all of that may have pushed that matter out into the bay”, Durrell said.

“It’s going to wind up in the ocean and turn our valuable resource into a cesspool”, he said.