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Mississippi Scientists Collect Oyster Samples for Food-Safety Study

Posted on: Wednesday, 27 July 2005, 09:00 CDT

Jul. 27--BAY ST. LOUIS -- State scientists began a weeklong gathering expedition Tuesday, collecting samples for an in-depth study to determine whether Mississippi's oysters are safe to eat.

For the second time this year, officials with the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Marine Resources collected oysters and clams from waters near St. Louis Bay.

Researchers sampled four sites in May for a preliminary review of shellfish, following results earlier this year from an independent study which warned that eating more than one oyster a day would be too dangerous.

The study published by the Journal of Shellfish Research indicated that oysters near St. Louis Bay -- the source of 99 percent of the state's harvest -- were laced with hazardous chromium and nickel compounds discharged from the DuPont DeLisle plant.

Henry Folmar, DEQ lab director, said the preliminary study was done to ensure the agency's testing procedures were correct, adding that this week's "official" review will be quite different.

DEQ scientists plan to use 11 different sample locations, including several sites in the Bay and three identical sites used in the independent study.

For this week's sampling, the 65-foot Conservationist has been equipped with smaller dredges, which help prevent tiny Rangia clams from slipping back to sea.

Although they are not normally eaten by seafood lovers, Rangia clams were also found to have high levels of toxic compounds, according to the Journal's study.

Tuesday, scientists took water profiles of each site, testing salinity and oxygen levels, while DMR officials made sure each oyster passed the 3-inch legal limit.

The Journal study said eating the Bay's oysters would be harmful because the metal compounds, which cannot be removed by cooking the shellfish, could cause kidney and liver damage.

Preliminary results from the first DEQ report released last month showed chromium levels in oysters harvested in some areas of the bay were 72 times lower than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "action level."

Both studies showed a significant rise in chromium levels since before the DuPont plant began operations in 1978.

State scientists expect to have results from the "official" study sometime this fall.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

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Source: The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.)

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