Beaches from the Indian River Inlet to Fenwick Island have announced closures due to reports of medical waste washing ashore.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control say emergency response teams are on site and ask residents to call the environmental hotline if more onshore medical waste is found.
The department advises visitors to leave the beach and refrain from swimming while the source of the medical waste is under investigation.
Maryland beaches also announced closures, including Ocean City, which took to Facebook to say it is doing extra cleaning near the shoreline.
All ocean facing beaches at Assateague Island National Seashore announced closures and said they are not sure how long they will be closed nor how long it will take to clean up the waste.
The City of Rehoboth Beach also announced Monday access to the ocean is closed, but said the decision is “primarily due to rough surf conditions.”
As of 1:00 p.m. Monday, after surveying the beach in the morning, the City of Rehoboth Beach found two exposed syringes with hypodermic needles along the beach. One was found north of Queen Street and the other near Pennsylvania Avenue. Several pieces of pill bottles and caps to medicine bottles also were found.
The city is advising visitors to wear closed-toe shoes on the beach.
