Universities to Study Safety, Consumption of Gulf Seafood

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) _ A $7.8 million grant will be used by researchers to examine the safety and human consumption of seafood following oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico.

The five-year grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences was announced Thursday by the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

The project will also involve the University of Pennsylvania, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Louisiana State University and the University of Arizona, plus community groups.

A statement from UTMB says researchers will seek to determine the vulnerability of affected coastal communities following the April 2010 BP oil spill.

Eleven workers were killed when the rig exploded, eventually spilling an estimated 206 million gallons of oil.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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