State officials testing lake, river seafood after Smitty’s Supply explosion, fire

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State officials announced Friday they have begun testing seafood from the Tangipahoa River and Lake Pontchartrain to look for potential contamination after the explosion and fire at the Smitty’s Supply Inc. facility last month.

The joint effort from the Wildlife and Fisheries, Health and Environmental Quality departments began Thursday, according to a LDEQ news release. Officials are collecting samples from various locations and analyzing them for heavy metals – such as arsenic, chromium, barium and lead – and petroleum-related