It could have contained a toxic material, and that’s exactly how Glynn County public safety officials treated the 55-gallon drum that floated up on East Beach Monday afternoon.

Although the contents proved to be nothing more than ocean water, Cpl. Jesse Cook of the state Department of Natural Resources said the mystery barrel provided a good training exercise for state and county public safety officials.

“It’s not often that this sort of thing happens,” he said.

Spectators were chased off the beach by emergency officials around 6 p.m. after the drum was seen floating near a sandbar off East Beach.

Glynn County firefighters prepared for the worst, cordoning off a 500-yard stretch of beach while the incoming high tide inched the barrel closer to shore.  Beachgoers were banned from the area for almost three hours.

When the barrel reached land, firefighters placed it in an overpack drum, a disposal container for hazardous waste. The black barrel was inscribed with an warning label, said Cook.

“There was a placard that said Rodine 213…a (metal) corrosive inhibitor,” he said. “We were worried that it contained the chemical, which is really harsh.”

The barrel was transported to the Ballard Fire Station for evaluation by a DNR emergency response hazardous material technician.

“It was just an empty barrel with sea water,” said Cook.