Asbestos, possible mustard gas discoveries lead to closure of part of Horn Island (updated)
Published: Monday, August 20, 2012, 9:22 AM Updated: Tuesday, August 21, 2012, 7:22 AM
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About 30 acres of Horn Island around an area known as "The Chimney" will be closed indefinitely.
"We 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," Brown said in the release. "A preliminary test also indicated the possible presence of a chemical agent known commonly as mustard gas. We are still awaiting confirmation of that."
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In June, BP asked the National Park Service to provide a list of potential chemical and biological hazards on Horn Island before the company deployed their cleanup crews as part of the Deepwater Horizon spill response.
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The list of other potential contaminants came from the initial review of the sites historical records and includes: botulinum toxin, ricin, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides, polychlorina ted biphenyls, dioxins and furans, as well as Resource Conservation and Recovery Act metals like silver and arsenic.
