LA beaches closed after hypodermic needles, other waste, found

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health closed the area from Ballona Creek to Grand Avenue in Playa del Rey in the evening of Wednesday.

Health officials announced that the beaches were closed on Thursday, due to medical waste.

The pipeline that would ordinarily discharge the treated waste five miles offshore was being repaired, Tonya Durrell of Hyperion said. However, health officials did urge visitors to the beaches to stay out of the water, as well as to avoid contact with sand and any other items that washed up on the beaches. Officials believe it was discharged from a pipeline belonging to the city-owned Hyperion Treatment Plant.

Leslie Griffin, also from Heal the Bay, observed people going out to the two beaches with their surfboards, which she points out is not a good idea, reports CBS. The group also tweeted out a photo, showing what looked like a tampon applicator floating in the water. In an interview with KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO, Heal the Bay urban programs manager James Alamillo said the runoff may have overwhelmed the sewage treatment plant.

For now they’re trying to keep swimmers and surfers away from the beaches. When disposed through the toilet, these will eventually get dumped in the ocean and “turn our valuable resource into a cesspool”.

“As of Thursday morning, the debris level has decreased significantly, and crews from LA Sanitation’s Watershed Protection Division, along with Clean Harbors, remain on site and will do so until the beach is clear for public enjoyment”.