Investigation of Beach Debris : Lifeguards Told to Clam Up on Medical Waste

San Diego lifeguards have been restricted from releasing information on the discovery of medical waste on area beaches in an effort by officials to avoid undermining a criminal investigation and to counteract the public’s “exaggerated impression” of the problem.

Lifeguard Capt. Chris Brewster said Tuesday that employees in his department were ordered a week ago to funnel all queries on the medical waste issue to a district attorney’s spokeswoman.

The county Hazardous Waste Task Force initiated an investigation two weeks ago to determine the source of the debris, which has been washing ashore since late October onto beaches from Imperial Beach to Orange County.

Issued Order

Brewster said he ordered the lifeguards to refrain from discussing medical waste after a district attorney’s investigator, who is working on the case for the task force, called last week and suggested that further media revelations could color the probe.

Moreover, Brewster said he feared that having information “piecemealed out on a blow-by-blow basis” each day by lifeguards without placing it in the proper context had given the public “an exaggerated impression of the actual gravity of the situation.”

In recent days, he said, the lifeguard service has received queries from residents asking if the beach is going to be closed or if the water is unsafe, “when at this point nothing could be further from the truth.”

“The reality is, a fairly normal amount of trash is being found on the beaches, and a fairly normal percentage of that happens to be of a medical nature,” Brewster said. “If the amount of medical trash increases to an extent that it really becomes an unusual hazard, we would be the first ones to so inform the media and the public.”

City Manager Unaware

City Manager John Lockwood said he was unaware of the gag order placed on the lifeguards. Lockwood said his policy is for all city employees “to be responsive to the media,” unless a matter is under investigation or subject to a lawsuit.

Linda Miller, a district attorney spokeswoman, said officials asked for the news blackout largely out of concern that further revelations could hamper the investigation.

Officials consider each piece of medical debris as evidence in a criminal investigation, she said. “As we always do in a criminal investigation, we ask that our witnesses don’t talk about the evidence.”

Miller acknowledged that Hazardous Waste Task Force officials also sought the blackout of day-to-day reports on the debris because of a concern that “some people are overreacting” to news reports. She said county health officials do not consider the debris to be a substantial health threat.

Characterized as Big

Nonetheless, Miller characterized the medical waste that has washed onto local beaches since Oct. 29 to be “big and new and different, and that’s why we launched a criminal investigation.”