Toxic Battery Dumping

It was a chilly December day in 1999 when the Baykeeper donned a wetsuit to retrieve batteries long ago discarded by the Coast Guard. Previously, the Coast Guard's general practice was to dump the discarded batteries as they were replaced in the buoys and channel markers that operate hundreds of moveable navigational aids in the Peconic Bays. These corroded and mollusk-covered marine batteries were reported to the Baykeeper after having washed up on area bay beaches.

"The big concern is the content of the batteries; they're toxic, containing mercury-coated zinc contacts - heavy metals which are dangerous to humans and marine life," notes McAllister. The metals leach into the water and the concentration of toxins increases as it moves up the food chain from plankton to shellfish and fin fish to human.

The Coast Guard begin a nationwide cleanup of discarded batteries in the early 90s, declaring the Peconic Bays completely cleaned, but that effort focused only batteries discarded around fixed navigational aids, such as lighthouses and stanchions. The batteries that operate movable navigational aids, such as buoys and channel markers, were ignored. The difficulty with surveying the movable aids, aside from their number, stems from the fac tthat their positions may have shifted over the years. The Coast Guard agreed to retrieve and safely dispose of any additional batteries that may be found henceforth.

The problem extends beyond just Peconic Bay as the Coast Guard maintains ATONs (Aids to Navigation) in all national waters. Peconic Baykeeper is working together with Waterkeeper Alliance in bringing awareness and resolution to the health of our nation's waters.