Judy Pino:
Old Man Winter is calling it quits for the season, and soon the sounds of summer will be heard all over the country as beachgoers pick their vacation destination.  One third of Americans visit our coasts every year, and the EPA and state partners are working year-round to ensure that our beaches are safe and sound for your pleasure.  Hi, Im Judy Pino, with EPAs Office of Multimedia, and this is Green Tips.

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Beaches are an important part of the complex and dynamic coastal watershed.  We take almost 2 billion trips to the beach year and spend billions of dollars more in beach communities.  Inadequate protection and overuse of beaches can lead to the alteration and destruction of them.  Jim Pendergast is chief of the Fish, Shellfish, Beach and Outreach branch in the Office of Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and hes with us today to tell us how some simple actions can be taken to protect these valuable systems.

Hi Jim, thanks for being here today.

Jim Pendergast:
Thank you, Judy.

Judy Pino:
How serious is beach pollution in the United States?

Jim Pendergast:
Well generally our beaches are very clean.  Although about a quarter of the beaches across the United States and the ocean and the Great Lakes beaches may have an advisory, those advisories are once or twice a year, rather infrequent, and theyre only of one or two days in duration.  Actually, if you add up all the days that people can go to beaches, the days the beaches are open, we lose only about five percent of them a year due to beach closures or advisories.

Judy Pino:
So its not too, too bad.  What is polluting our beaches, then?

Jim Pendergast:
Well the pollution comes from several sources.  Leaking sewers, for example, raw sewage that gets out to the beaches.  Wastewater treatment plants that may have a problem due to a power failure or something just caused them not to operate right that day.  Sometimes heavy storms can actually wash waste into the beaches and can cause problems there.  And of course, there are some of the natural sources.  Animals can actually add to the pollution of the beaches, and also kids with full diapers.

Judy Pino:
And weve seen that plenty of times.  Now lets talk about the health risks of swimming in infested water, Jim.

Jim Pendergast:
Well some of these health risks are things that we are somewhat familiar with.  If we eat or drink something that doesnt work well with ourselves, vomiting or diarrhea, and the same things can happen with swimming at polluted beaches.  There can also be some eye inflammation, itchy eyes, itchy skin, and sometimes heavy cough.  All these are caused when we come into contact with pathogens, and these are bacteria -- or some are bacteria -- viruses, or also the microscopic one-celled small microscopic animals that can make us sick.

Judy Pino:
So before we pack our lifesaver and our towels, we should find out if the beach is open, right?  How do we do that?

Jim Pendergast:
Yes, theres very simple things that you can do.  First thing is to go on the Internet and check your state Web site for beaches.  Every state has a beach Web site thatll tell you the status of the beaches, whether its open, its closed, or under advisory.  If you want to get some understanding of the history of whats happened to that beach, you can go to our Web site at www.epa.gov/beaches and look up your favorite beach and see how many times its been closed or under advisory over the last few years.  And lastly, when youre at the beach, look for signs, look for notices that may say swim at your own risk or beach closed, and if you see those signs please dont go in the water.

Judy Pino:
Now weve seen many times we go to beaches and there arent any lifeguards.  Then what?  What do you look for?

Jim Pendergast:
Well essentially use your common sense.  Look for things that just dont seem right.  If theres lots of trash in the water, thats a good indication there may be pollution there.  If you see pipes with things flowing out of it, particularly dark water, thats a symbol that there may be some pollution there and dont go swimming there.  Find some other place thats clean and go there.

Judy Pino:
Okay.  Now that we know the dangers, how is the EPA making sure that the nations beaches are safe for swimming?

Jim Pendergast:
Well, EPA and states and local communities have been doing an awful lot for helping to treat water, wastewater, to make sure that its clean.  Over the last 30 years, EPA has given the states and the communities $60 billion to be able to build wastewater treatment plants, fix sewers, and essentially be able to treat sewage and keep us from coming into contact with it.  Over the last eight years, we have given $70 million to states to help them either start or to increase their beach monitoring programs, where they monitor the water, they look for pathogens, and if they find something there they tell people that its unsafe to swim.

Judy Pino:
Okay.  Thats what government is doing, but how can I as an individual help keep the beaches clean?

Jim Pendergast:
Well again, there are some things that you can do very easily.  First of all, if you live in a watershed thats close to a beach or where the rivers flow from your watershed to a beach, dont pollute on the land, and particularly dont pour things down the storm sewers.  Those sewers dont necessarily go to a place where they get treated; some of them go directly to the beach, and you certainly dont want to be swimming in things that youve poured down the drain.  If you have a septic system and its underground, make sure that its operating correctly, make sure that its been inspected; you dont want to have it leak and as a result affect the beaches.  And finally, when youre at the beach, throw your trash away.  Trash attracts animals and animals can leave their little droppings around, which can also make the water unsafe to swim.

Judy Pino:
Absolutely.  So beach safety also starts in the home.  Yeah.  Okay, well of course, once the water is all good, we got it, dont forget to be sun wise.  Tell us how to do that.

Jim Pendergast:
Well as you go to the beach, one of the beautiful things besides having the water is that you have lots of sun, and of course too much sun can be harmful to you.  Weve all heard about the concerns about having increased skin cancer, being out in the sun too long.  So here are some things you can do.  First of all, dont stay out in the sun so long that you get a sunburn.  Thats a good sign that its been too much.  If you go out in the sun, please apply sun block, especially the SP-15 or higher, and apply it every two hours, and particularly after you get out of the water.  Use that to be able to block the suns harmful rays.  

If you can, if youre not in the water, wear protective clothing to help be able to essentially put your skin and your face into shade.  A hat really helps.  If youre out on the beach, stay in the shade if you can, particularly between the hours of 10 to 4 in the afternoon.  Under a beach umbrella, its a good way essentially to protect your body.  And lastly, before you go to the beach, check the weather site to be able to see what the ultraviolet index is for the day, the UV index.  If its high, that may not be a good day to go to the beach.

Judy Pino:
Stay indoors, then.

Jim Pendergast:
Yes.

Judy Pino:
Okay.  For more information on how to make this a safe and fun summer for you and your family at the beach, please visit the EPA beaches Web site at www.epa.gov/beaches.  This Web site will also link you to your state Web site to receive the most up-to-date information on beach closures in your area.  Thank you Jim Pendergast, chief of the Fish, Shellfish, Beach and Outreach branch for the U.S. EPA for your green tips.

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