A Jersey Shore beach might be contaminated with arsenic. Visitors are warned not to touch anything.

By Nick Caloway, Mark Prussin

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    KEYPORT, New Jersey (WCBS) — New Jersey environmental officials are warning people in one Jersey Shore town not to touch anything at the beach, including the water, because it could be contaminated with arsenic.

Stone-like materials called slag tested positive for elevated levels of arsenic, a toxic chemical element, near Cedar Street Park in Keyport, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Signs along the beach tell visitors “DO NOT TOUCH” and show a picture of the poisonous slag. Beachgoers are urged to wash their hands if they come into contact with it.

Lead detected on same beach

The arsenic finding came after materials on the beach tested positive for lead earlier this summer.

“I just want to get it cleaned up,” said Al Litwak, who’s lived on the otherwise picture-perfect shore for 11 years.

Neighbors said New Jersey DEP crews have been cleaning up the toxic materials, but the latest discovery is still unnerving.

“It’s a bay that we would normally enjoy, we would come down here and walk to. And unfortunately we really haven’t been because it’s hard to tell your young kid to come down to the park, and then they want to go on the beach and you have to tell them, ‘No you can’t. You can’t go in the water. You can’t touch the sand.’ So, it’s kind of sad and upsetting,” said Nicole Gangino.

New Jersey hasn’t confirmed source of toxic materials

While officials say the exact source of the toxic materials is still unconfirmed, residents think it’s likely seeping from an old landfill.

“My only point is, there’s a lot more back there, and let’s not wait until another crisis to get things cleaned up here, and let’s take care of the bay,” said Litwak.

Prolonged arsenic exposure can cause multiple cancers, including skin, lung and other organs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Skin lesions are also common.

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