Assateague Island Seashore in Maryland Closed Off After Military Munitions Debris Found

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US authorities have closed off parts of the beach area of the Assateague Island National Seashore in the state of Maryland over pieces of military munitions debris found there over the past couple of weeks, the National Park Service (NPS) said on Monday.

"A partial closure is in effect for the North Beach Swimming area at the Maryland unit of Assateague Island National Seashore. The 'normal' lifeguarded beach area is closed until further notice," the park service said in a press release on Sunday.

"This closure is in effect because of the discovery of multiple (7 and counting), pieces of military munitions debris on the beach over the last two weeks."

NPS explained that during the 1940s, the US Navy used this area of Assateague Island as a test range for rockets and bombs. After a clean-up in the 1950s, munitions debris was buried in pits on the island.

"Due to the natural movement of the island and seas level rise, some of these pits are now offshore. It is likely that the large Nor’easter in May disturbed the nearshore seafloor and uncovered one of these pits," the release said. "This has resulted in pieces of ordinance coming ashore."

Most of the pieces are just metal fragments, but some may still contain residue of either explosives or propellent. That is why they must be considered dangerous, the park service added.

"Ocean City Bomb Squad and the Dover AFB EOD team have been assisting the park in dealing with these items," NPS revealed. "If you find a piece of unidentified metal on the beach, please do not touch it, and notify park staff. Unfortunately, there have been several instances of visitors picking up rocket fragments and carrying them to either the lifeguards or, in one instance the visitor center. Please do not do this as it is potentially very dangerous."

Park Management and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) experts will meet this week to develop a plan for going forward.

It is unclear how long the closure will be in effect.