Officials believe that the sewage treatment discs released in an overflow accident at the Hooksett, N.H., sewer treatment plant March 7 have now washed up across a 300-mile expanse of New England shoreline.
And while Gloucester public works crews have cleaned all of the city's public beaches and report them to be in good shape, that could change depending on wind and tide conditions, according to Emergency Management Director Miles Schlichte.
The white plastic discs, used to help filter waste, have turned up on the sandy beaches of Rye and Hampton, N.H., in the marsh and tidal areas of Ipswich Sound, and on all of the beaches of Gloucester and others around Cape Ann.
Most recently, the discs have invaded the beaches of Cape Cod. And there's every expectation they will keep turning up for months to come, according to experts who traveled to Newburyport this week to brief municipal leaders and environmental groups.
In all, an estimated 4.24 million discs released from the Hooksett wastewater system. Schlichte said the Gloucester Department of Public Works will continue to monitor the beaches here and adjust cleanup efforts accordingly.
Schlichte said Gloucester was fortunate to have its own mechanical beach rake, which reportedly has proven to be very effective in picking up discs on beaches where the rake can access.
Dick Chalpin of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, who took part in this week's regional briefing session, said the discs were recently discovered along the stretch of pristine coastline known as Coast Guard Beach, located in the heart of the federally designated Cape Cod National Seashore.
"They're traveling well, these discs," he said.
While efforts by Enpro Services, the environmental cleanup company hired by Hooksett, and a host of public service departments and volunteer groups across the region have managed to dispose of a majority of the released discs, they say there are still more than 1.5 million of them left out there.
"We're estimating 2.5 million discs have been recovered," said Enpro spokesman Geoffrey Brown.
If there is a spot of good news regarding the discs, it's that ongoing testing still shows only a small percentage contain limited amounts of bacteria — typical of the levels of bacteria any other type of beach litter would contain, Chalpin said.
"It's no worse than any beach litter that is out there," Chalpin said, echoing local assessments made by Schlichte and other Gloucester officials last week. "It's essentially a massive amount of litter wandering about."
Enpro and Hooksett officials are operating a reconnaissance and recovery effort in 85 locations along the seacoast, and 50 locations along the Merrimack River.
"There are definitely still some left," Brown said.
Mike Wimsatt of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services advised that since some discs have come back showing low levels of contamination, those handling the discs should continue following guidelines set up for the cleanup, which suggested anyone handling them should use gloves and wash their hands for 20 seconds following exposure.
The Kruger Biofilm chips, which are used to attract and then consume human waste bacteria, are made from polyethylene or polypropylene, durable materials environmentalists expect to take a long while to break down, Wimsatt said.
In the meantime, they will likely be showing up on beaches as they travel with the tide and surf. Hooksett Emergency Management director Dan Pike, who was on hand yesterday to answer questions relative to the accidental spill, said residents can expect to get a full accounting of what happened in writing when the majority of the discs have been recovered. To the lingering questions in people's minds on whether such a release will happen again, he offered no guarantees.
"The answer is, probably not," Pike said. "But I can envision a scenario where it would happen again."
While the town of Hooksett plans to fully pay for the cleanup, it will be difficult, he said, urging affected communities to be patient.
"This is going to be expensive," Pike said. "Hooksett is a small community. And like other municipalities, it's been impacted by the bad economy.
"We know this is going to cost $1.5 to $2 million — maybe higher. That's a difficult burden for the town to bear. It's just not going to be easy."
In Gloucester, residents are still being asked to pick up the discs they see on the small beaches and dispose of them in the trash.
Gloucester is not cleaning private beaches, however, and while the city will look to Hooksett for cleanup reimbursement, private property owners and organizations are being advised to contact the town of Hooksett directly, Schlichte has said.
According to Schlichte, there was a question about increased medical waste coming up on Coffins Beach, and officials have said there were box filters in the Hooksett plant that screen out that type of waste, so none of that would have come from Hooksett.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, however, several other communities had plants discharge during the storm, some which do not have the capacity to screen debris prior to discharge.
Francis X. Quinn can be reached at 978-283-7000 x3455, or at fquinn@gloucestertimes.com. Lynne Hendricks may be contacted at lhendricks@gloucestertimes.com.
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
