[REVISION HISTORY]
St. Pete Beach mothball dumping
Updated 1 time since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.
What changed
2026-07-31 12:12 UTC → 2026-08-09 07:03 UTC ·
added
removed
In late July 2026, beachgoers on St. Pete Beach, Florida, reported a strong acrid smell and discovered hundreds of small white objects. State officials identified the items as mothballs—plastic‑wrapped tablets containing naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene—and began a multi‑hour cleanup to protect public health, pets and the endangered black oystercatcher nesting nearby. Within two days, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) linked the dump to the owners of the Plaza Beach Hotel and the adjacent Chris’ Beachside Bar. Surveillance video, purchase records and communications implicated the hotel owner owner, Robert C. Czyszczon, and bar manager Christopher S. Monroe in scattering roughly 1,500 toxic mothballs on the beach, allegedly to deter threatened black skimmers. skimmers from nesting near their businesses to protect revenue. Both men were arrested and charged with felony third-degree felonies for commercial littering and misdemeanors related to harming attempting to take a state‑listed threatened species, underscoring species. The FWC and Audubon Society volunteers assisted in the agency’s enforcement removal of the pesticide-containing objects to mitigate chemical hazards to the public and local wildlife protection laws. populations.
Versions
- 2026-08-09 07:03 UTC St. Pete Beach mothball dumping
- 2026-07-31 12:12 UTC St. Pete Beach mothball dumping
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