For the second time this summer, officials at a Jersey Shore beach have had to close down the summertime destination because of needles washing ashore.
Exclusive photos shared with NBC New York show the hypodermic needles washing up in front of the municipal beach pavilion ing Monmouth Beach, just north of Long Branch.
Monmouth Beach Mayor Dave Stickle said that the beach was closed around 2 p.m. Thursday when lifeguards noticed the debris laced with needles.
A similar thing happened earlier in the summer, and Stickle believes the needles come from diabetics who flush their syringes down the toilet. Following heavy rains that the area saw over the past weekend from Tropical Storm Henri, storm water mixing with sewer water can overwhelm systems, including in New York and northern New Jersey, flushing everything out to sea.
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Ocean currents then often deliver the waste along Jersey Shore Beaches. f
While Monmouth Beach may be the only Jersey Shore beach shut down, a handful of other beaches elsewhere in the state were closed recently due to high levels of fecal bacteria. All five of those other beaches are located in Ocean County: 25th street Bay Front Beach in Barnegat Light; Beachwood Beach West in Beachwood; Reese Avenue beach in Lavellette; East Beach Station Avenue Beach in Pine Beach; and Hancock Beach in Seaside Heights.
