Medical waste found at Fairview Beach
Up to 150 used syringes and twice as many empty vials washed up on the Pasadena shoreline yesterday, the largest amount of medical waste to appear on a county beach in recent memory, an Anne Arundel health official said.
People walking on Fairview Beach, off of Fairview Beach Road near where Rock Creek empties into the Patapsco River, found the debris and called authorities about noon.
Six county health workers spent the rest of the afternoon collecting the waste and cleaning the beach. Some will come back today to make sure nothing more washes up.
No injuries were reported.
Evelyn Stein, a spokeswoman for the county Health Department, said officials have no idea where the waste came from.
"There were no identifying markers," she said.
Ms. Stein said officials speculate the debris was washed up by Tropical Storm Danielle, which battered the eastern seaboard last weekend.
While small amounts of medical waste occasionally wash up on county beaches, Ms. Stein said, the amount yesterday was unusual. "This kind of thing has happened before, but not recently," she said.
Baltimore man faces drug charges
A Baltimore man was charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana after he was found passed out behind the wheel of his van in Pasadena early Wednesday.
Police said officers patrolling Hog Neck Road found the man asleep in his 1985 Dodge van at 3 a.m. They noticed an open can of Budweiser beer between the driver's and passenger seats and four marijuana cigarettes on the console.
After searching the van, they found more marijuana and some drug paraphernalia.
Glenn Kent Ropka, 43, of the 600 block of Plymouth St., also was charged with possession of marijuana.