Ocean Springs, Mississippi - Nearly 30 acres of Horn Island is
contaminated with asbestos and possibly mustard gas. The
announcement made on Monday by Dan Brown, Superintendent of the
Gulf Islands National Seashore, also includes an indefinite
closure of the area. Last week, the Gulf Islands National
Seashore “received confirmation Thursday that there are asbestos
materials on the ground on the northwestern shore of the island
in an area that contains the remains of a military facility that
was active in the 1940s,” said Brown. Brown also announced that
initial testing showed that the area may also be contaminated
with mustard gas. Brown cautioned that the mustard gas findings
are waiting confirmation. It is suspected that containers of
mustard gas – a chemical agent commonly used by the United
States military for combat – may have leached into the ground.
Broken asbestos tiles were found on the seashore. Immediately
after the discovery of the asbestos, the affected area was
quarantined to protect the public