Oil Advisories Issued for 2 Beach Locations

BILOXI, Miss. – Beach advisories have been issued for two locations in Jackson and Harrison counties.

The state Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Marine Resources and Department of Health issued the advisories on Monday.

These areas were observed to have significant amounts of tar balls, tar mats, mousse, or sheen on Sunday, June 27. MDEQ and the Beach Monitoring Task Force recommend that people avoid contact with oil-related materials and to stay out of the water if these materials are visible.

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 advisories are issued for:

Jackson County: The area from Main Street in the Belle Fontaine area west to Seashore Avenue. This encompasses existing beach monitoring sites 17 and 15A.

Harrison County: This advisory extends from Miramar Avenue west to Veterans Avenue. This area includes beach monitoring site 12A.

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.