Arkansas River Syringes - The Arkansas River has been off bound for residents of Tulsa and Pawnee County as investigators and environmental specialists continue to clean the water of dangerous medical waste found in it over the past two weeks.
The discovery of five plastic biohazard containers filled with medical waste including vials of blood and syringes with needles attached to them this past weekend, has raised concern among many locals. "There's no telling how long this has happened or if it's happened more than once," said Taylor Smith, who was reportedly fishing when he found the boxes of medical waste.
Pawnee County Sheriff Mike Walters told FOX23 that so far up to nine plastic boxes of medical waste have been found in the Arkansas River. Although one of the boxes was reportedly partly opened, Walters has expressed assurance that "most, if not all the needles, were safely collected." Nonetheless, he was warned people to be careful. Police have instructed locals to stay clear of the water while their investigation continues. Reports indicate that experts from the Department of Environmental Quality are in the county helping the police to clean up the Arkansas River.
Smith said he doesn't feel comfortable getting into the water now."It's sickening to think that somebody could get hepatitis. The possibility is very real," he said.
Officials say the culprit is likely to have dumped the boxes of plastic waste upstream.
Meanwhile, on Monday Pawnee County authorities arrested a suspect who is accused of stealing waste from St. John Medical Center. Garrett Gibson, 27, was reportedly caught with a trash bin filled with medical waste. He claimed to be a janitor.
It is unclear why Gibson wanted the medical waste. It is also unclear if he is the one dumping medical waste into the Arkansas River, but Walters has noted that "there is a very high possibility that he's possibly going to be connected."
Reports indicate that some of the medical waste have the logo of St. John Medical Center. Officials say the culprit who dumped the waste in the Arkansas River will be prosecuted.
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