The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection have begun looking into how objects containing lead appeared on Keyport’s bay shore.

According to New York/New Jersey Baykeeper, objects resembling lead slag first became visible in June, and tests have confirmed that the objects contain lead.

“We know there’s thousands and thousands of pieces,” said Greg Remaud, the Baykeeper CEO. “It gets into small amounts that are ingestible by wildlife. . . [Or] when you’re wading in the water and you splash, you may be ingesting some of that.”

Remaud said test results came back on Tuesday showing that the rock-looking objects contained lead, prompting the outreach to the EPA and DEP to determine how to proceed.

“I imagine that testing will be part of the next steps, but it’s too soon to say exactly what the next steps will be and the overall timeline,” said Stephanie Vaughn, an environmental engineer with the EPA. “But we did commit to getting back to everybody very quickly.”

Vaughn said the decisions on next steps should be made by the end of next week. In the meantime, the beach has yet to be blocked off by signage, and the objects are still on the bay shore.

The Raritan Bay Slag Superfund site sits just four miles away from the shore — and has tested positive for lead in the past — but Remaud said he believes the objects in Keyport were dumped there and the former National Lead company, which operated the Raritan Bay Slag site, is not responsible.