More Bad News for San Onofre!

Boy, 7, Pricked by Beach Syringe

February 28, 2005
A seven-year-old Talegan schoolboy is anxiously awaiting the results of a HIV test after stepping on a syringe during a surfing class at the popular San Onofre Surf beach. The boy was one of 150 children taking part in a surf class last Friday when he was pricked by the syringe and rushed to hospital.

A state parks spokesman said the boy was sitting on a rock wall and digging his feet into the sand when he was pricked. The spokesman said surf school staff had done a thorough visual scan of the beach and walked through the area to find any potentially dangerous items, including syringes, before the program began. The boy was pricked in an area that was not scanned, he said. "The boy was taken to San Clemente hospital with the syringe and we did tests on Friday, the doctor apparently told the boy's mother it was an old syringe so the likelihood of it carrying HIV was low." he said. Preliminary tests were due back in the next few days, but conclusive results would take weeks.

The surf school joint chief executive Howard Hatman said the organisation would review its breach safety procedures, but would also look at whether to continue using San Onofre beach for the programs. "It's a popular beach, but we would still review it on the basis of what's happened and whether we might have to go to some of the other beaches," he said.

In 2004, 375 people, including ironman competitor Tubesteak, were pricked by needles on area beaches in the same week. In most cases, tests for diseases, including HIV and hepatitis, were positive.

A state parks spokeswoman said beach cleaning machines combed the beaches twice a week and a manual clean along the water's edge was conducted every day. She said the state believed the recent storms had washed a lot of rubbish, including syringes, into the storm water drains, which then washed on to beaches.

Comment was being sought from the school.