Multiple stretches of beaches along the coast of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia are closed until further notice due to needles and other medical waste washing ashore, officials said.
Assateague Island National Seashore, which is located partly in Maryland and partly in Virginia, began closures at its public beaches on Sunday and encouraged visitors to wear shoes at all times after syringes with needles were found along the coast.
Eventually, nearby Chincoteague Public Beach in Accomack County was also closed.
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About 50 miles north in Delaware, it's a similar story.
Officials in Dewey Beach and Rehoboth Beach restricted access to the ocean after discovering medical waste on their shoreline as well. However, the Town of Dewey Beach said on its Facebook that the amount of waste has been minimal.
“Our main concern is the type of waste that may be in the tideline where it isn't easily visible to someone entering the water,” the town wrote on social media. “We are keeping in touch with our beach raking vendor in the event we need to organize a cleanup.”
Pictures posted on Facebook show multiple syringes and a variety of plastic bottles scattered in the sand.
Officials on Assateague Island said they have no idea where the medical waste is coming from and don’t want to speculate, but that authorities are investigating.
There is no estimated timeline for when the beaches will reopen, officials said.
