The Texas Department of State Health Services has updated the seafood consumption advisory for the Houston Ship Channel to state that no persons should consume any species of fish or blue crab caught in the the Houston Ship Channel and all contiguous waters north of the Fred Hartman Bridge, State Highway 146 including the San Jacinto River below the Lake Houston Dam. The previous seafood consumption advisory for the Houston Ship Channel stated that no women of childbearing age or children younger than 12 should consume fish or blue crab from that area and adult men and women past childbearing age should limit consumption to 8oz per month.

The ITC tank facility fire that began March 17, 2019 has been in the news and the health impacts for the residents in Deer Park and Galena Park and for Galveston Bay are still being examined. HARC and GBF continue to monitor the situation as details are released from health and environmental authorities. GBF and Texas A&M have also been collecting and analyzing water samples in the Houston Ship Channel, finding high levels of benzene in at least one water sample taken on March 23, 2019. Levels have since fallen back to with the acceptable range according to EPA and TCEQ. For more information on GBF’s sampling effort, visit their website