Local News in Brief : Newport Beach : Beached Syringes Seen as Not Dangerous

Health officials said Tuesday that the syringes washed ashore in Newport Beach Sunday probably contained insulin and that no further investigation is warranted.

Insulin is a substance routinely used by diabetics and does not constitute a public hazard, officials said. Most of the syringes were found on the beach along a four-block section in Corona del Mar, which had been closed briefly Sunday afternoon while the syringes were collected.

A bottle labeled “androgen,” a synthetic male sex hormone or steroid, also was found, but it was uncertain whether it washed ashore or was simply left there by a beach-goer, authorities said.

Robert E. Merryman, the county’s director of environmental health, said the syringes and bottle contained nothing that could identify their users. That quantity of syringes “is not a lot for one diabetic” and could have come from a private boat offshore, he said.