are fish safe to eat where you live?

[davetclown]

[#ff0000]are fish safe to eat where you live?[/#ff0000] EPA Releases 12th Annual National Listing of Fish Advisories
[font "Arial"]Contact: Cynthia Bergman 202-564-9828 / bergman.cynthia@epa.gov[/font]

[font "Arial"](Washington, D.C. – August 24, 2004) For the 12th straight year, EPA is releasing its summary of information on locally-issued fish advisories and safe-eating guidelines. This information is provided to EPA annually by states, territories and tribes. EPA makes this information easily accessible to the public each summer on its website at: [/font][font "Arial"][url "http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/"]http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/[/url][/font][font "Arial"] .[/font]

[font "Arial"]States monitor their waters by sampling fish tissue for long-lasting pollutants that bioaccumulate. States issue their advisories and guidelines voluntarily and have flexibility in what criteria they use and how the data are collected. As a result, there are significant variations in the numbers of waters tested, the pollutants tested for and the threshold for issuing advisories. Based on self-reporting, the national trend is for states to monitor different waters each year, generally without retesting waters monitored in previous years.[/font]

[font "Arial"]The number of fish advisories is increasing even as emissions for major pollutants are decreasing and as pollutants such as DDT and chlordane are banned in the United States. In 2003, 48 states, the District of Columbia and American Samoa issued 3,094 fish advisories, 280 more than the previous year. With these additions, 35 percent of the total lake acres and 24 percent of the river miles in the nation are now under advisory. Since 2002, the number of lake acres under an advisory increased by two percent, river miles by nine percent and coastline by four percent. A large part of the increase in lake acres and river miles under advisory occurred because Montana and Washington issued statewide advisories for all their lakes and rivers in 2003 and Hawaii issued a statewide advisory for its entire coastline. [/font]

[font "Arial"]States issue fish consumption advisories if elevated concentrations of chemicals such as mercury or dioxin are found in local fish. As new waters are tested and results added to previous years’ findings, the number of fish advisories continues to rise. Most of the new fishing advisories involve mercury despite the fact that U.S. emissions of mercury have declined by almost 50 percent since 1990.[/font]

[font "Arial"]“More and more of our waters are being tested, and that’s protective for children and pregnant women,’’ said Administrator Mike Leavitt. “Emissions are down, and emissions will continue to go down as the Bush Administration takes the first-ever steps to regulate mercury from coal-fired power plants.”[/font]

[font "Arial"]For most people, the risk from mercury by eating fish and shellfish is not a health concern. Yet, some fish and shellfish contain higher levels of mercury that may harm an unborn baby or young child's developing nervous system. Therefore, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the EPA recently advised women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children to avoid some types of fish and eat fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury. ( [/font][font "Arial"][url "http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fishadvice/advice.html"]http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fishadvice/advice.html[/url][/font][font "Arial"] ) [/font]

[font "Arial"]Human-caused mercury emissions in this country have dropped 50 percent since 1990, and the Bush Administration is in the process of regulating mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants for the first time in our nation’s history. The final rule, which will be promulgated by March 15, 2005, will be one component of the Agency’s overall effort to reduce mercury emissions domestically and internationally.[/font]

[font "Arial"]State-issued advisories apply primarily to non-commercial fish and shellfish obtained through sport, recreation and subsistence activities. Each advisory is different: it may recommend unrestricted, limited or totally restricted consumption; may be targeted to everyone or limited to women, children or other people at risk; and may apply to certain species or sizes of fish or a specific water body.[/font]

[font "Arial"]States issue advisories for any of 40 different pollutants. Most advisories (98 percent) involve five bioaccumulative contaminants: PCBs, chlordane, dioxins, DDT and mercury. In addition to steps to reduce mercury emissions, actions have or are being taken to address other pollutants of concern: production of PCBs for use ceased in 1977, chlordane was banned in 1988, DDT was banned in 1972 and dioxin emissions have been dramatically reduced. [/font]

[font "Arial"]States may issue safe-eating guidelines in addition to issuing fish advisories. A fish advisory is issued to warn the public of the potential human health risks from chemical contamination of certain species from particular types of waterbodies such as lakes, rivers and/ or coastal waters within the state. In contrast, a safe-eating guideline is issued to inform the public that fish from specific waterbodies have been tested for chemical contaminants, and the fish from these waters are safe to eat without consumption restrictions.[/font]

[font "Arial"]The number of safe-eating guidelines nearly doubled in 2002 (164 were added) and increased a further 14 percent (47 were added) in 2003. The number of guidelines is likely to continue to grow as additional states identify safe fishing waters in future years. A fact sheet with additional information is available at: [/font][font "Arial"][url "http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/"]http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/[/url][/font][font "Arial"] .[/font]


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[url "http://www.epa.gov/"][/url][url "mailto:public-access@epamail.epa.gov"][/url]
Release date:08/24/2004

[url "http://epa.gov/waterscience/fish/states.htm"]Where You Live[/url] <--- link to your state [ul] [li]Links are to State, Territory, and Tribal Fish Advisory Programs or to the Agencies that administer them. [li]All State, Territory, and Tribal links exit EPA [url "http://www.epa.gov/epahome/exitepa.htm"][/url] [li]The following State links go to PDF files ([url "http://www.epa.gov/epahome/pdf.html"]about this format[/url]) Hawaii, North Dakota, and Tennessee. [/li][/ul]


[center]For more information on EPA's Fish Advisory Program, contact: Jeffrey Bigler at US EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW (4305T), Washington, DC 20460; e-mail: [url "mailto:bigler.jeff@epa.gov"]bigler.jeff@epa.gov[/url][/center]
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[JimF]

For the most part, water quality in lakes and rivers in south-central Texas are much better than the minimal EPA standards. Here are some examples taken from the most recent studies done by the LCRA:

Lake Buchanan
Rating: Good
Water quality parameters were within acceptable ranges for this time of the year. Dissolved oxygen was high enough to support a healthy fish community. Bacteria and nutrient levels were low and therefore not a concern for contact recreation. Water clarity (visibility) was running 6 feet and the water temperature was
81° F.

Lake LBJ
Rating: Good

Lake Travis
Rating: Excellent

Pedernales River
Rating: Excellent

A couple of power plant lakes around San Antonio (Brauning and Calaveras) have very low (poor) quality ratings due to high levels of mercury and and unacceptable PCB content. Reports of deformed fish are being heard by park authorities more often than in the past, but SARA & TPWD(San Antonio River Authority/Texas Parks and Wildlife)are evidently ignoring said reports and refuse to publish warnings.

JF
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[davetclown]

thankyou

I tend to agree with your line of thinking that it is more so a localized contamination being the major cause.

unfourtunatly every state is afraid of a single company leaving to go to another state or contry for that matter with lighter polution laws.

we are realy in a pickle barrol on this one. I am not the first nor will I be the last to be able to place the peices together on the problem even bush says he cant do any thing about the polution problem with out companies making the threat to leave the country.

the fact remains that there are a few lakes left that are not a total waist hole but by the reasoning of DC every lake puddle and ociean should be poisoned because of fall out of coal burning plants.

this is cirtanly an interesting topic, and I beleive this should be discussed in every school and every class around the world all the way down to the earliest level entry.

people think that young children cant understand the problems of polution, I beg to differ, give a 5 year old a gold fish bowl, give the kid a gold fish, give the kid food for the gold fish, on top of the water place a couple drops of motor oil. then tell they to feed the gold fish. need I say more?

emagin the dismay the child will feal, this is the way every one should feal about polution.
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[JimF]

Dave:

The problem w/ discussing it in a public forum is that enviro nuts and terrorist like PETA use it as an excuse to put forth their agenda; vegatarianism.

As you say, not all bodies of water are polluted. In fact, the majority are just fine. People need to investigate what the quality/condition of a particular lake or river is and decide for themselves whether to use it for recreation or eat the fish that inhabit it.

There is a distinct lack of interest by the public. So many have an attitude of complacency and assumes that someone else (local or state water managers) will protect them. There is so much information available regarding water quality, water borne virsuses, etc., and very few individuals have any knowledge of it. But boy, if any of them contract a disease or virsus they immediately blame the overseeing agency. It's the public's fault for not availing themselves of the information and demanding something be done; e.g., Brauning and Calaveras Lakes in San Antonio.

JF
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[davetclown]

well said... well said....

people miss the golden rule, clenlyness is next to godlyness,

there are so many ways of puttin it but you hit the nail on the head.

it is every ones responcibility to do the research and stick to environment frendly produced not just the end product being biodegradable.

there are no checks and balences as to when we have put to much junk in to the rivers. once that point is reached it is to late. we will end up with sulfer rivers like those in the deserts that could not sustain even a cochroach.

I sure hope we can turn things around.

they could start by not allowing any more plants to be built with substandards and not allow US companies move their plants out of the contry to avoid the restrictions.

as far as peta perps are concerned they are so far off the wall they havent got a clue what animal rights are.

thay will spend a million dollars in cort to sew a circus because an animals pen got above 70 degrees yet they cant spend a dime informing and educating comunities about the distruction to wild life that an illegaly operating company is causing.

not to many people remember 3 mile island. most of those who lived there are dead due to cancer. wouldnt it have been nice if they could have been at least worned when the melt down accured before people came down with cancer and other radiation related illness.
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