ROSELAND — An independent environmental tester who has tracked contamination from the Smitty’s Supply explosion since the beginning says new sampling shows pollutants are still spreading downstream.

Scott Smith presented what he called alarming new data Saturday during a town hall meeting with residents along the Tangipahoa River.

“The Smitty’s explosion and fire is ongoing. It is not over with,” Smith said.

The explosion and fire at Smitty’s Supply in Roseland happened last September. Smith says his latest sampling shows contamination from the site has traveled miles downstream into the Tangipahoa River, which flows south into Lake Pontchartrain.

His comments come as Smitty’s Supply has been granted an emergency permit to discharge up to one million gallons of treated stormwater per day into the Tangipahoa River.

Smith says his most recent samples show contamination coming from that drainage ditch. He says testing detected PFAS, often called “forever chemicals”,  along with dioxins, substances widely recognized as highly carcinogenic, meaning they have a link to cancer.

He also compared the findings to the 2023 train derailment and chemical burn in East Palestine, Ohio, claiming some dioxin levels in Roseland are significantly higher.

“There are pockets here, especially with water, that are much higher than East Palestine, and they're all above the EPA action threshold for additional testing. Way, way, way above it,” Smith said.

For many residents living near the site, concerns about long-term exposure are growing.

“I have these bad headaches when I lay down on my pillow at night, and I’m scared,” Mary Ann Hilbert, said 

Terrie Lynn Vernon says her family has experienced ongoing health issues since the explosion.

“Continuously, headaches, migraines. You know, my daughter's suffering from migraines. It's a continuous cycle that has been happening with my family ever since this explosion,” Vernon said.

Vernon says mixed messages from officials have left residents unsure what to believe.

“Getting mixed signals. You know, you have the EPA saying everything is good, everything is safe. And then you have, you know, others saying it's not,” she said.

After hearing Smith’s presentation, Vernon says her biggest concern remains simple.

“I just want to know if my family is safe,” she said.

Smith says government agencies should be doing more to protect residents.

“The government should be stepping in right now to help people that want to leave,” Scott said.

Another town hall meeting hosted by Smith is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Ponchatoula Beach Pavilion.