Clam boat that dredged up mustard gas off LI decontaminated

BOSTON - The Coast Guard says a clam boat that dragged up canisters of mustard gas earlier this month off Long Island shores has been decontaminated.

The Coast Guard's Boston office announced Saturday that there is no detectable sulfur mustard contamination aboard the vessel, the ESS Pursuit.

In addition, 180 clam cages were decontaminated. A cold-storage facility, Sea Watch International in New Bedford, also has been cleaned.

Seventeen trucks took the boat's 504,000 pounds of clams to Texas and Arkansas to be incinerated. The trucks also will be decontaminated.

The 145-foot clam boat dragged up mustard gas-tainted munitions on June 6, which led to the hospitalization of one crew member.