Washed-up disks on North Shore deemed safe

Suffolk health officials said Sunday that thousands of small, white plastic disks that have washed up on North Shore beaches in the past week came from a Westchester County water treatment plant and pose no health risk.

The polyethylene disks are used in the process of removing nitrogen from wastewater, county health officials said.

The disks had escaped from one of the tanks during startup of the process at a treatment plan under construction in Mamaroneck, N.Y., officials said, and have been found along beaches and shorelines from Northport to Mattituck.

The disks went through a chlorination process before they were discharged and are not likely to harbor contaminants, said Dr. James Tomarken, Suffolk County Commissioner of Health Services.

As a precaution, gloves should be worn when handling the disks, which can be thrown in the trash. Contact the Department of Health Services at 631-853-3055 for more information.