The small, shiny object caught the eye of beachgoers near the mouth of Wisconsin's Poplar River on Wednesday morning. A closer look revealed something more ominous than just a lost trinket: a mysterious container with the inscription "caution-radioactive material."
That discovery prompted an immediate call to local authorities.
Responders from the U.S. Coast Guard and Superior Fire Department seized the canister, which was about the size of a deck of cards, and determined that it didn't contain radioactive materials or emit any hazardous waste.
A follow-up investigation by the Wisconsin National Guard made sure there was no radiation source nearby and that the public was not in danger. Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services then disposed of the container.
Authorities were unable to determine what exactly the object was and where it came from. The Poplar River drains into Lake Superior.
Emergency workers commended the caller for following the Department of Homeland Security's "See Something Say Something" policy and encouraged the public to do the same.
"Our swift mobilization of local, state and federal resources for this response reinforced our unified effort to address potential threats to public safety, especially on the eve of the Tall Ships Duluth Festival, a historically well-attended public event," Cmdr. Erin Williams of the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Duluth said in a statement.
Liz Sawyer • 612-673-4648
