ROSELAND — More than 50 days after an explosion at the Smitty's Supply plant in Roseland, community members gathered Tuesday to protest the still-closed stretch of U.S. 51.

The demonstrators gathered at the corner of La. 1048 and U.S. 51, the latter of which has been closed since the explosion in late August. They are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency and Gov. Jeff Landry to take action to help return to some sense of normalcy. 

"We need access," a protestor's sign read.

Demonstrators said that their quality of life remains affected by the continued road closure, as well as the aftermath of the chemical spills that still fill the Tangipahoa River dozens of miles downstream from the plant site. 

"The government, EPA, whoever, should have had something in place by now that they can hand out to residents when something like this happens that says hey, get your water well tested, this is how often and this is how long, what health concerns to look for, what to ask your doctor to test for, we are literally having to do our own homework to find out all this information," local farmer Arlene Bankston told WBRZ. 

The EPA set up several meeting times earlier in October for community members to express their concerns and seek help.

Over the past week, an independent environmental quality tester raised concerns about the contamination in the aftermath of the explosion and the ongoing cleanup effort.