CONTACT:
Enesta Jones
jones.enesta@epa.gov
202-564-7873
202-564-4455
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 10, 2009
EPA Study Reveals Widespread Contamination of Fish in U.S. Lakes and Reservoirs
WASHINGTON – A new EPA study shows
concentrations of toxic chemicals in fish tissue from lakes and reservoirs in nearly all 50 U.S. states. For
the first time, EPA is able to estimate the percentage of lakes and
reservoirs nationwide that have fish containing potentially harmful
levels of chemicals such as mercury and PCBs.
“These
results reinforce Administrator Jackson’s strong call for revitalized
protection of our nation’s waterways and long-overdue action to protect
the American people,” said Peter S. Silva, assistant administrator for
EPA’s Office of Water. “EPA is aggressively tackling the issues the
report highlights. Before the results were even finalized, the agency
initiated efforts to further reduce toxic mercury pollution and
strengthen enforcement of the Clean Water Act – all part of a renewed
effort to protect the nation’s health and environment.”
The
data showed mercury concentrations in game fish exceeding EPA’s
recommended levels at 49 percent of lakes and reservoirs nationwide,
and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in game fish at levels
of potential concern at 17 percent of lakes and reservoirs. These
findings are based on a comprehensive national study using more data on
levels of contamination in fish tissue than any previous study.
Burning
fossil fuels, primarily coal, accounts for nearly half of mercury air
emissions caused by human activity in the U.S., and those emissions are
a significant contributor to mercury in water bodies. From 1990 through
2005, emissions of mercury into the air decreased by 58 percent. EPA is
committed to developing a new rule to substantially reduce mercury
emissions from power plants, and the Obama Administration is actively
supporting a new international agreement that will reduce mercury
emissions worldwide.
The
study also confirms the widespread occurrence of PCBs and dioxins in
fish, illustrating the need for federal, state and local government to
continue efforts to reduce the presence of
these harmful chemicals in our lakes and reservoirs and ensure that
fish advisory information is readily available.
It
is important that women of child-bearing age and children continue to
follow the advice of EPA and the Food and Drug Administration on fish
consumption as it relates to mercury. This study is
also a strong message to state and local governments to redouble their
efforts in looking for opportunities to reduce mercury discharges, as
well as developing fish advisories, especially to reach those in
sensitive and vulnerable populations.
Results
from the four-year National Study of Chemical Residues in Lake Fish
Tissue show that mercury and PCBs are widely distributed in U.S. lakes
and reservoirs. Mercury and PCBs were detected in all of the fish
samples collected from the nationally representative sample of 500
lakes and reservoirs in the study. Because these findings apply to fish
caught in lakes and reservoirs, it is particularly important for
recreational and subsistence fishers to follow their state and local
fish advisories.
EPA
is conducting other statistically based national aquatic surveys that
include assessment of fish contamination, such as the National Rivers
and Streams Assessment and the National Coastal Assessment. Sampling
for the National Rivers and Streams Assessment is underway, and results
from this two-year study are expected to be available in 2011.
Collection of fish samples for the National Coastal Assessment will
begin in 2010.
More information: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fishstudy
More information on local fish advisories: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/states.htm
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