11-11-2005, 02:41 PM
Article Last Updated: 11/11/2005 12:35:04 AM
Green River catfish fail mercury test
[#888888]High levels in Desolation Canyon prompt a consumption advisory
[/#888888] [url "mailto:fahys@sltrib.com"][#000000]By Judy Fahys
The Salt Lake Tribune[/#000000][/url]
Utah now has a third mercury advisory for fish.
A new analysis of channel catfish in the Green River's Desolation Canyon turned up high levels of toxic mercury. Eight of 10 fish examined exceeded levels considered safe for unlimited human consumption.
"Practically speaking, this is not a big deal because there aren't many people taking fish from this location," John Whitehead, assistant director of the Division of Water Quality, told the statewide mercury advisory committee Thursday.
In August, Utah became the 46th state to warn the public about eating too many![[Image: clear.gif]](http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif)
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[li][url "http://www.sltrib.com/ci_3030593"]Utah mercury task force vows to work in the open, (9-15-05)[/url]
[li][url "http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2964931"]mercury warning issued for fish at two Utah sites, (8-23-05)[/url]
[li][url "http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2766995"]Utah will study level of mercury in state fish, (5-29-05)[/url]
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[/li] fish from contaminated waters. Those advisories cover largemouth bass from Gunlock Reservoir in Washington County and brown trout from Mill Creek in Grand County.
And, last month the state advised hunters about toxic mercury levels in two species of Great Salt Lake ducks, Common Goldeneye and Northern Shoveler. No other states have such an advisory.
Mercury becomes a health risk when it has chemically transformed to methyl mercury. In wildlife and humans, the dangerous form builds up in the food chain.
At high levels, it can cause brain and nervous system damage. Symptoms include nausea, muscle weakness and memory loss.
Although the potential harm to pregnant and nursing women and children is often emphasized, new research suggests methyl mercury also affects those with heart conditions and autoimmune diseases and causes infertility. Utah's advisories are based on standards jointly issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Members of the statewide mercury group Thursday continued to ponder strategies for tackling the issue.
They learned Health Department employees are training on a new mercury analyzer purchased by the state that will make Advertisement ![[Image: pageid=70956850??]](http://209.210.181.2/IMPCNT/ccid=9400/area=slt.LOCAL.positionY/adsize=300x250/keyword=/site=/acc_random=70956850/pageid=70956850??)
it possible to test fish samples now backlogged at a federal laboratory.
The 15-member panel also heard from an Idaho researcher whose work suggests mercury drifts east from gold mines in Nevada. The mines account for about 10 percent of the mercury released nationwide, according to EPA data.
In addition, they also learned about the complexities of measuring mercury that might come to Utah with the weather, perhaps from pollution sources in China and elsewhere around the world.
Lynn de Freitas, executive director of the conservation group Friends of the Great Salt Lake, said that while the new data and the advisories are informative, many questions are far from being answered, including how nongame, migratory birds are affected by the contamination.
"We really have to get cracking," she said.
How many servings of catfish is it safe to eat?
According the the latest mercury fish advisory:
* Adults should limit their consumption of Desolation Canyon channel catfish to two 8-ounce servings per month.
* Women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children should not eat more than one 4-ounce serving per month of channel catfish from the Green River.
* A 4-ounce serving of fish is approximately the size of a deck of cards.
* More information is available at http://www.deq.utah.gov/issues/Mercury/fish advisories.htm.
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Green River catfish fail mercury test
[#888888]High levels in Desolation Canyon prompt a consumption advisory
[/#888888] [url "mailto:fahys@sltrib.com"][#000000]By Judy Fahys
The Salt Lake Tribune[/#000000][/url]
Utah now has a third mercury advisory for fish.
A new analysis of channel catfish in the Green River's Desolation Canyon turned up high levels of toxic mercury. Eight of 10 fish examined exceeded levels considered safe for unlimited human consumption.
"Practically speaking, this is not a big deal because there aren't many people taking fish from this location," John Whitehead, assistant director of the Division of Water Quality, told the statewide mercury advisory committee Thursday.
In August, Utah became the 46th state to warn the public about eating too many
[#ffffff]Related Articles[/#ffffff] [li][url "http://www.sltrib.com/ci_3074414"]Mercury Alert: Two duck species too toxic to eat, (9-30-05)[/url] [li][url "http://www.sltrib.com/ci_3030593"]Utah mercury task force vows to work in the open, (9-15-05)[/url]
[li][url "http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2964931"]mercury warning issued for fish at two Utah sites, (8-23-05)[/url]
[li][url "http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2766995"]Utah will study level of mercury in state fish, (5-29-05)[/url]
[li][url "http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2725971"]Mercury too high in Utah test fish, (5-11-05)[/url]
[li][url "http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2577720"]Toxic mercury lurking in Great Salt Lake, (2-18-05)[/url]
[/li]
fish from contaminated waters. Those advisories cover largemouth bass from Gunlock Reservoir in Washington County and brown trout from Mill Creek in Grand County. And, last month the state advised hunters about toxic mercury levels in two species of Great Salt Lake ducks, Common Goldeneye and Northern Shoveler. No other states have such an advisory.
Mercury becomes a health risk when it has chemically transformed to methyl mercury. In wildlife and humans, the dangerous form builds up in the food chain.
At high levels, it can cause brain and nervous system damage. Symptoms include nausea, muscle weakness and memory loss.
Although the potential harm to pregnant and nursing women and children is often emphasized, new research suggests methyl mercury also affects those with heart conditions and autoimmune diseases and causes infertility. Utah's advisories are based on standards jointly issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Members of the statewide mercury group Thursday continued to ponder strategies for tackling the issue.
They learned Health Department employees are training on a new mercury analyzer purchased by the state that will make
Advertisement it possible to test fish samples now backlogged at a federal laboratory. The 15-member panel also heard from an Idaho researcher whose work suggests mercury drifts east from gold mines in Nevada. The mines account for about 10 percent of the mercury released nationwide, according to EPA data.
In addition, they also learned about the complexities of measuring mercury that might come to Utah with the weather, perhaps from pollution sources in China and elsewhere around the world.
Lynn de Freitas, executive director of the conservation group Friends of the Great Salt Lake, said that while the new data and the advisories are informative, many questions are far from being answered, including how nongame, migratory birds are affected by the contamination.
"We really have to get cracking," she said.
How many servings of catfish is it safe to eat?
According the the latest mercury fish advisory:
* Adults should limit their consumption of Desolation Canyon channel catfish to two 8-ounce servings per month.
* Women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children should not eat more than one 4-ounce serving per month of channel catfish from the Green River.
* A 4-ounce serving of fish is approximately the size of a deck of cards.
* More information is available at http://www.deq.utah.gov/issues/Mercury/fish advisories.htm.
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