June 29, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BEACH ADVISORY AREA FOR HARRISON COUNTY EXTENDED
BILOXI, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR), and the Mississippi State Department of Health extended the beach advisory issued yesterday in Harrison County approximately 1.75 miles to the east.. This area had significant amounts tar mats and tar patties on the beach. MDEQ and the Beach Monitoring Task Force recommend that people avoid contact with oil-related materials such as tar balls and tar mats, and stay out of the water if these materials are visible. This revised advisory area covers the beach from Veterans Avenue on the west to Azalea Avenue to the east. This includes Mississippi beach monitoring sites 12A, portions of 12B, and 13.
These beaches are not closed and beach goers may continue to use these beaches, but the agencies advise people to be aware of their surroundings while recreating.
The Jackson County advisory issued Monday remains in effect and includes the area from Main Street in the Belle Fountain area west to Seashore Avenue. This encompasses existing beach monitoring sites 17 and 15A.
Information and maps of these beach monitoring locations are available at: http://www.usm.edu/gcrl/msbeach/index.cgi. MDEQ and the Beach Monitoring Task Force will continue to advise the public when oil-related materials are found. The nature of this oil spill is such that patches of these type materials could show up in other areas in the near future.
The Mississippi State Department of Health has provided these tips for people who come in contact with oil materials:
• Avoid direct skin contact with the oil.
• If you get oil on your skin, wash it off with soap and water.
• Wash your hands before eating to avoid accidentally swallowing oil.
• If you get oil on clothing, wash it in the usual way.
• Prolonged exposure to the oil may cause some to have a skin rash.
• There is no need to use harsh detergents, solvents or other chemicals to wash oil from your skin or clothing, and their use is discouraged.
More information and links about MDEQ’s and DMR’s roles in oil spill response are available at www.deq.state.ms.us and www.dmr.ms.gov. The website for the Mississippi State Department of Health is: http://www.msdh.state.ms.us.
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