BATON ROUGE — A state agency began testing seafood from areas affected by last month's Smitty's Supply explosions in Roseland for potential contamination.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality said it started collecting samples Thursday from the Tangipahoa River and Lake Pontchartrain, near the mouth of the river. The agency will test the seafood for heavy metals and petroleum-related chemicals.

The LDEQ said it wants to know if seafood in the area is safe to eat. Oily residue settled over a large swath of Tangipahoa Parish from a black plume that rose from Smitty's following the Aug. 22 series of explosions.

“Responding quickly and comprehensively to environmental incidents is what our teams are trained to do,” LDEQ Assistant Secretary for the Office of Environmental Compli

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