June 06, 2010 DHH Closes Oyster Harvesting Area 9 Due to Oil SpillOfficials Continue Aggressive Testing

BATON ROUGE, Jun 06, 2010 - The Louisiana Department of Health announced today the closure of oyster harvesting bed Area 9 in response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf.

The closure is west of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish.

LDH Secretary Alan Levine and State Health Officer Dr. Jimmy Guidry signed the closure order, which will take effect at sunset today, Sunday, June 6, 2010.

LDH officials have been working closely with local, state and federal agencies to monitor the oil plume that continues to grow off of the Louisiana coastline for its potential impacts on oyster harvesting areas. Meanwhile, employees with LDH's Office of Public Health Molluscan Shellfish Program have continued regular testing of 8 million acres of coastal waters along the Louisiana shoreline.

In addition, LDH scientists and register sanitarians are conducting enhanced testing of oyster meat taken from the closed beds to monitor the presence of oil, called hydrocarbon testing. Additional testing is also being conducted in unaffected oyster beds. These tests will create a baseline, which will be used to ensure the safety of oysters once the incident clears in order to reopen beds.

Portions of areas 2 and 3 remain closed, as do areas 8, 10 through 15, 17 and 28 remain closed.

The public is encouraged to call a toll-free hotline, 1-800-256-2775, to report the presence of oil or an oil sheen.

For more information related to the oil spill, visit http://www.emergency.louisiana.gov. Connect with us on www.facebook.com/GOHSEP and on Twitter as @GOHSEP. View photos from the state's response efforts at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lagohsep.

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