Team of scientists joins Salty Brine Beach investigation

Photo by Andrew Augustus WPRO News

By Sam Wroblewski 630wpro.com

Scientists from the University of Rhode Island and the US Department of Agriculture joined investigators at Salty Brine Beach Thursday to help determine what caused the blast which hospitalized a Connecticut woman last weekend.

The team comprised of oceanographers and a soil scientist reported to the beach to take samples of the sand near the jetty on the far west end of the beach.

Member’s of URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography arrived on the beach with a long metal apparatus which they drilled into the sand to take a core sample of the soil about 15 feet below the surface.

Department of Environmental Management Director Janet Coit says the scientists are looking for evidence of gases which could have caused the explosion.

“They are going to bring [samples] back and analyze them and then when they have the results of that will show us if there was the potential of gas under the ground,” said Coit.

Coit said gas could have come from decaying compounds underneath the sand; remnants of what she calls historic salt marshes that have long been covered up.

“We’re methodically pursuing each lead that we have, and ruling things out; so we’re making progress but still frustrated that we don’t have a definitive conclusion as to what happened here,” Coit said.

The possibility of explosive materials or foul play were ruled out early in the investigation, leading authorities to examine all potential natural causes of the explosion.

Coit said the beach explosion is something they have never seen before, but her department is confident there is no immediate danger.

“We’re keeping people out of the work area but not out of the beach.”

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