Aluminum containers discovered on beaches in 2008 have continued to wash up on Pacific Coast shores, with three found at Strawberry Point south of LaPush on April 4.
The 1-liter canisters, which are about 10 inches long with red or white plastic caps, are containers for aluminum phosphide, a pesticide often used on cargo ships.
The state Department of Ecology is spreading the word — on the eve of Saturday’s annual Coastal Cleanup — that any capped canisters discovered should not be opened. The contents can harm people as well as animals.
“Last year, we weren’t really sure what was in them or where they were coming from,” Kim Schmanke, spokeswoman for the state Department of Ecology, said on Wednesday.
Dangerous if capped
Schmanke said that canisters that are not capped and that are empty are not dangerous.
“If someone finds one that is empty and has been through the waves, they could even take it with them if they really wanted to, but the danger lies with the ones that aren’t empty,” she said.
Aluminum phosphide — which is often used to protect crops from insects or rodents during transport — is dangerous if inhaled or ingested.
Symptoms of mild to moderate acute aluminum phosphide toxicity include nausea, abdominal pain, tightness in chest, excitement, restlessness, agitation and chills.
Symptoms of more severe toxicity include diarrhea, cyanosis, difficulty breathing, pulmonary edema, respiratory failure, rapid heart beat and low blood pressure, dizziness and possibly death.
Ecology said in 2008 that hundreds of the canisters had been found along Pacific coast beaches, but the source has never been determined.
The three canisters found near LaPush earlier this month were decontaminated by Ecology personnel — by rinsing them out with water — and recycled, Schmanke said.
Thrown overboard
“We have some that the labels are in foreign languages, and some are in English, so that is some sort of indication that they are probably thrown overboard from ships once they are empty,” she said.
“But full ones sometimes end up in the ocean during bad weather.”
Those who find the canisters are asked to report the location of the canisters to Ecology at 360-407-6300 or to any Olympic National Park ranger station at 360-565-3000.
Schmanke said Ecology isn’t sure if volunteers will find canisters but that information on the canisters will be distributed the day of the event to keep the groups safe.
“It is beginning to be nicer weather, so people will be out because of that,” she said.
“And of course this weekend, the volunteers will be cleaning at the beaches, so we want to let them know, too.”
Coastal cleaning
Volunteers will clean up the Pacific Coast Saturday in an event organized by CoastSavers.
A similar cleanup has been organized for the Clallam Bay and Sekiu beaches on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
About 1,000 volunteers are expected for the Pacific Coast cleanup. They will help with a range of tasks, from picking up assorted debris along beaches and carrying it back to roadside Dumpsters to using a four-wheel-drive vehicle to pick up filled bags at others.
The Washington Clean Coast Alliance is a partnership of eight founding members including Discover Your Northwest, Grass Roots Garbage Gang, Lions Club International, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Olympic National Park, Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association, Surfrider Foundation and the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.
Volunteers should check in between 7:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday at the Kalaloch campground, the Hoh reservation at the end of Lower Hoh Road, Forks Transit Station and Information Center, Three Rivers Resort between Forks and LaPush, Ozette Ranger Station or Washburn’s General Store in Neah Bay.
For more information, visit the CoastSavers Web site at www.coastsavers.org/washington.
The Clallam Bay-Sekiu cleanup will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Gloves, bags and sign-up sheets will be at Sunsets West Co-op in Clallam Bay and Olson’s Resort in Sekiu.
The cleanup is sponsored by the Clallam Bay-Sekiu Lions, Clallam Bay-Sekiu Chamber of Commerce and Clallam County Marine Resources Council.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
