MONMOUTH BEACH, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — Officials at a Jersey Shore beach were forced to close the coastline to visitors this week for the second time this summer after more needles were found in the sand.
According to a WNBC-TV report, hypodermic needles were found washed ashore on Thursday in front of the municipal beach pavilion at Monmouth Beach, just north of Long Branch.
Officials closed the beach around 2 p.m., according to the report.
It remains unclear when the beach will reopen.
The closure marks the second time this summer that Monmouth Beach was forced to close after medical waste washed up along shore.
The beach had also shutdown in mid-July after hundreds of syringes washed ashore, following a sewer system overflow.
According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Conservation, the syringes were insulin needles used by people with diabetes who flushed them down the toilet.
In that incident, flood waters caused a combined sewer overflow (CSO) miles from the beach, and the needles were swept into the ocean and carried to the Jersey Shore.
It remains unclear if the needles found Thursday were related to another overflow. It’s possible the needles could have been swept out to sea following heavy rainfall over the weekend from Tropical Store Henri.
According to WNBC-TV, ocean currents often deliver waste along Jersey Shore beaches.