UPDATED FISH CONSUMPTION ADVISORIES ISSUED
FOR TENNESSEE
Advisories Reflect New, More Conservative
Water Quality Criterion
for Mercury in Fish
Nashville, Tenn. - The Department of Environment and Conservation has announced several additions to Tennessee's list of precautionary fish consumption advisories as a result of the trigger point for issuing a mercury advisory being lowered to 0.3 parts per million (ppm).
"Recent studies indicate that mercury has potential neurological effects on children at lower levels than previously thought," said Paul Davis, director of the Division of Water Pollution Control. "Because of this new research and based on EPA's new water quality criterion, the mercury advisory trigger point is being lowered to a more conservative level."
State law requires the department to inform the public and post warnings where contaminants in fish pose a possible threat to people who might catch and eat them.
"Eating fish with elevated levels of mercury is a risk Tennesseans can avoid," said Deputy Commissioner for Environment Paul Sloan. "Fishing advisories give fishermen and their families the information they need to make informed decisions about limiting their intake or avoiding fish from specific stream segments or bodies of water."
Unlike "do not consume" advisories that warn the general population to avoid eating fish from a particular body of water altogether, precautionary fish consumption advisories are directed at sensitive populations such as children, pregnant women, nursing mothers and those who eat fish frequently from the same body of water.
Three existing advisories in Shelby, Loudon and Monroe Counties were modified to include mercury and seven new precautionary advisories for mercury were issued today. Two existing "do not consume" mercury advisories for the North Fork Holston River and East Fork Poplar Creek were not altered.
"It's important to understand that the risk associated with these advisories pertains specifically to the consumption of fish," said Davis. "Swimming and wading in these waters or catching and releasing fish are activities that do not expose the public to an increased risk from mercury. In addition, people should be mindful that fish are a generally healthy source of high-quality protein and other essential nutrients, low in saturated fat and contain omega-3 fatty acids. While contaminated fish should be avoided, fish remain an important component of a healthy diet."
According to EPA, mercury is a naturally occurring element that can be found throughout the environment. Forest fires and human activities, such as burning coal, some industrial processes and waste incineration, have caused the amount of mercury in parts of the environment to increase. The primary way people in the U.S. are exposed to mercury is by eating fish containing methylmercury, a toxic form of mercury that accumulates easily in organisms.
"While our first priority is to warn the public about areas with fish that have elevated levels of mercury, we are also taking steps, such as a multi-agency study of mercury in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, to try and determine if local sources of mercury have contributed to concentrations in Tennessee fish," said Sloan.
The following areas have existing "do not consume" advisories that have been modified to include mercury:
|
|
|
Type(s) of Fish Covered |
Previous
Basis |
Revised
Basis |
| Mississippi River and McKellar Lake |
Shelby |
All fish species. |
Chlordane, Other Organics (PCBs, dieldrin, aldrin, dioxin) |
Chlordane, |
| Wolf River and Loosahatchie River |
Shelby |
All fish species. |
Chlordane, |
Chlordane, |
| Tellico Reservoir |
Loudon |
Catfish |
PCBs |
PCBs and Mercury |
New precautionary fish consumption advisories are also being issued for the following seven areas. In these waters, the public is advised that sensitive populations including children, pregnant women and nursing mothers should avoid eating the type of fish included in the advisory. Others should limit consumption of these types of fish from these waters to one or two meals per month.
|
|
|
|
Type(s) of Fish Covered |
| Buffalo River |
Perry |
From the mouth upstream to Highway 438 (mile 31.6). (This is a tentative determination of impacted waters. Additional studies will be done in the summer of 2007 to more accurately determine the extent of elevated mercury levels in Buffalo River fish.) |
Smallmouth bass |
| Emory River |
Roane |
From Highway 27 bridge near Harriman (mile 12.4) upstream to Camp Austin Road bridge (mile 21.8). |
All fish species |
| Hiwassee River |
Meigs |
From Highway 58 (mile 7.4) upstream to the railroad bridge upstream of Highway 11 (mile 18.9). |
Largemouth bass |
| Norris Reservoir |
Campbell |
Clinch River portion of the reservoir. (Powell River embayment is not included in advisory and neither is the free-flowing portion of the Clinch above the impounded part of Norris Reservoir.) |
Largemouth bass |
| Holston River |
Hawkins |
From the mouth of Poor Valley Creek (River Mile 89) upstream to the confluence to the North and South Fork of the Holston near Kingsport. |
All fish species |
| South Holston Lake |
Sullivan |
Tennessee portion. (The upper part of the lake is Virginia. The state line is at approximately river mile 62.9) |
Largemouth bass |
| Watauga Reservoir |
Carter |
Entire lake |
Largemouth bass and |
Where new advisories have been issued, the department will immediately begin the process of putting up signs at primary public access points. The Department of Environment and Conservation and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency also plan to work in partnership on the collection and analysis of additional fish tissue samples this summer.
For a complete listing of Tennessee's current fishing advisories plus additional information about the advisory issuance process, visit: www.tdec.net/wpc/publications/advisories.pdf.
An EPA publication called "What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish" is available in several languages at www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish.
| For more information contact: Dana Coleman
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