Have Beaches become Too Toxic For Humans?





Beaches used to be everyone's go-to place for relaxation, now, most of them are polluted and have become a source of sickness for beachgoers.

Beachgoers in England have been advised to avoid the water as the authorities begin an investigation to find out the cause of the illness that continues to plague beachgoers.Natural News reports that last month, on August 25th, a lot of Essex residents had headed to the beach in droves to enjoy the bank holiday weekend and say goodbye to summer in unusual 92-degree heat. Met Office, had reported that it was the hottest August bank holiday weekend ever, and very hot temperatures had motivated hundreds of families to visit the beach on that particular day – but a majority of these beach visitors ended up experiencing the dangers of ocean pollution.Some of the beachgoers reported that they saw a haze in the air while others recalled smelling fumes.

According to the report on BBC, about a hundred and fifty people fell ill after they had visited the beaches along the country’s Essex Coast, with 14 ending up in the hospital. Three beaches were affected namely: Walton-on-the-Naze, Clacton, and Frinton-on-Sea.

The affected beachgoers complained of several symptoms such as trouble breathing, burning eyes and noses, coughing and vomiting. The initial report had come in around 2:00 pm. One woman reported that her twin daughters were left “gasping for breath,” she said it was painful for them to breathe in, with one twin left unable to speak. They confirmed that their symptoms seem to improve when they attempted moving away from the beach. They however still fill the need to seek medical attention.

Lots of kids were seen coming out of the water in tears, so much so that beach patrols had taped off some areas and emergency crews were called to the beach to help out with those who felt sick.

A lot of similar incidents have been reported in other British beaches. Earlier in August, the seafront at Worthing had to be evacuated because hazardous materials had been spilled into the water from a boat nearby.

No one has confirmed the cause of the most recent strange outbreak up till date; however,water samples have been collected for testing, even though results have not been released. There are rumours in circulation which say that a boat had spilled some fuel into the water but the country’s Maritimeand Coastguard Agencysent out counter-pollution surveillance aircraft to fly over the areaand they reported that they found no evidence of any such spill.

A spokesman from the Tendring District Council, quoted on Natural Health said: “We are aware of a number of speculated causes, ranging from algae, a fuel spillage and a spike in pollution and ozone levels, and we would reassure the public we have looked into a whole range of possibilities. However, it is possible we will never know for sure what caused this incident.”

American beaches are not left out. In August 2019, a popular beach in Thurston Country, Washington was closed because of the presence of toxic algae in the water in Long Lake.


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