Efforts under way to remove styrofoam on coast

Thirty workers from Moran Environmental Recovery are now at Cape Lookout picking up the styrofoam. That styrofoam was swept overboard during a storm from the Paris Express cargo ship on its way to Norfolk, Va.

Twenty-one containers of styrofoam fell into the ocean, littering the coastal area from Cape Lookout all the way to the Virginia state line. In addition to the Cape Lookout cleanup workers, Moran Environmental Recover also has 40 workers in Buxton.

The U.S. Coast Guard has set up a unified command and a hotline for coastal residents to call to report heavily affected areas and to voice concerns.

None of the lost cargo was listed as hazardous material, but the Coast Guard said the styrofoam could be harmful to national seashore areas along the Outer Banks.

The National Park Service is working with the Coast Guard to coordinate the cleanup.