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On a Beach near Execution Rocks.

5K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  WanderingStar 
#1 ·
A beach near Execution Rocks on Long Island Sound is littered with 1000's of these plastic discs. These started showing up about a month ago. Any ideas what they might be?



They are 1" dia x 3/8" wide.

A friend suggested that they might be wadding to shotgun shells - however the size would indicate a 4 Gauge. According to Wiki.Answers.com "There is a 4 gauge/bore shotgun, however it is extremely rare." NRA sites state that 5 and 4 is commonly used for shooting ducks and geese. While, the NY DEC prohibits use of a shotgun larger than 10-gauge for hunting migratory game birds.
 
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#2 ·
Wastewater Treatment Discs

Hope you didn't touch them :puke (just kidding, they should be clean by the time you saw them).

Here is a story that relates to these. You might want to contact the local board of health so they can be properly cleaned up.
 
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#4 ·
We had a release of similar-appearing discs from a sewage treatment plant in New Hampshire. They released 4 million of them by mistake into the merrimack river. They have been showing up on beaches all over MA. I wonder if the discs you have there are the same thing? If they are, I would call the Boston Globe and/or the EPA ASAP. That's amazing if they have migrated that far! Pesky ocean currents.

link: Flood of contaminated disks fouls area beaches » Local News » SalemNews.com, Salem, MA
 
#5 ·
The ones in NY are different then Mass. Same concept, different manufactures.

Here is a photo of the ones from Mass.



The ones the OP found came from Larchmont. They had a similar release.
 
#7 ·
For anyone interested in such things, they're called various names including "biodisks", "biofilters", etc. They provide a large surface area for nitrogen-reducing bacteria to adhere to so they can convert nitrate to nitrogen gas, reducing the nutrient loading on the wastewater effluent.
Not sure why the story called it "new technology", it's been around for years!
 
#8 ·
So did the bathwater get released with these babies?

Regards,
Brad
 
#9 ·
Great.

So if a boater were to have an 'accident' and release a holding tank or fuel spill in a NDZ there would be hell to pay. But a town releases tons of plastic and it's 'no problem, they are safe'.

Barry
 
#12 ·
County Legislator Judy Myers told theLoop.

"They are plain, old plastic," she said. "In fact, they are so plain and ordinary, they are just going to be chucked."
Plain old plastic?

Those damn things would last for years. Turtles and other marine life eat that sort of stuff (and cigarette butts) but can't pass then and so die.

Plain old disgrace if you ask me!
 
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