BATON ROUGE, LA – The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), has completed a seafood tissue study following the August 22, 2025 fire and explosion at the Smitty’s Supply Inc. facility in Roseland, Tangipahoa Parish.
The study was conducted to determine whether fish, shrimp, and crabs from the Tangipahoa River remain safe for public consumption. Samples were also collected from Bayou Lacombe, located more than 40 miles away from Roseland, to provide background comparison data. LDEQ and LDWF collected a total of thirteen composite samples between September 16 and 23, 2025. Samples were analyzed for metals, semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), and dioxins/furans. The results were evaluated against Louisiana’s established Tissue Screening Level Guidelines for Issuance of Public Health Advisories for Selected Contaminants. With the exception of arsenic, no contaminants detected in seafood samples from the Tangipahoa River were present at levels expected to pose harm to public health. Arsenic was detected in five of thirteen samples at levels similar to those measured in the background samples from Bayou Lacombe.
It is important to note that the analytical method used measures total arsenic and does not differentiate between organic and inorganic forms. Scientific studies have shown that most arsenic in fish and shellfish (>90%) occurs in the organic form, which is far less toxic than inorganic arsenic. To address this uncertainty, future sampling efforts will include analyses that distinguish between organic and inorganic arsenic to better evaluate potential health risks associated with seafood consumption from these areas. The Tangipahoa River already has an existing fish consumption advisory for mercury, which includes black drum, bowfin, crappie, flathead catfish, freshwater drum, largemouth bass, redear sunfish, rock bass, smallmouth buffalo, and spotted bass. This advisory was first issued in 2003 and updated in 2021.
“The Department continues to work closely with our state and federal partners to assess environmental conditions and ensure protection of public health,” said LDEQ Assistant Secretary Jerry Lang. “These sampling results help us better understand potential impacts and guide decisions about continued monitoring in the Tangipahoa River system.”
The full Seafood Tissue Sampling and Analysis Report, including analytical data, is available in the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) under AI No. 25963.