Date: Fri 21-Jul-1995

Publication: Hea

Author: ANDYG

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

fish-pollution-pcbs-food

Full Text:

Fishermen:

Eating Your Catch May Be Dangerous To Your Health

A health advisory against eating fish taken from the Housatonic River due to

PCB contamination has been posted in six languages at state boat launches.

This PCB posting at the Bridgewater boat launch on Lake Lillinonah is in

English, Spanish, Laotian, Cambodian, Vietnamese and Hmong. -Fecho photo

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

State officials remind anglers that the health advisory against eating fish

taken from Lake Lillinonah and Lake Zoar remains in effect as a precautionary

measure. Fish in those lakes are contaminated with the toxic substances known

as PCB's, or polychlorinated biphenyls. PCB contamination of the river

occurred in the past, originating at a General Electric (GE) electrical

transformer factory, upriver in Pittsfield, Mass. PCB's are a colorless,

odorless liquid.

GE used PCB's as a fire-resistant coolant in the transformers. The PCB's are

well-suited for use as a coolant because they are chemically inert and resist

decomposition. But resistance to chemical decomposition has proved to be the

bane of PCB's, resulting in their enduring presence on the Housatonic river

bed. PCB's are a family of compounds which were manufactured in the United

States from 1929 until 1977. PCB manufacturing has been banned since 1979,

with the substances now used only in certain electrical equipment. GE used

PCB's in its manufacturing for more than 40 years. Inadvertent spills,

leakages and discharges led to the chemicals entering the river near its

headwaters. In 1984, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established the

acceptable amount of PCB's in food to be two parts per million (2 ppm).

Food Chain

As the toxic PCB's lay on the Housatonic river bed for decades, they were

entering the earth's food chain.

PCB's are absorbed into algae. The algae are then consumed by zooplankton. The

zooplankton are then eaten by insect larvae. The larvae are consumed by

crayfish. The crayfish are eaten by small fish which then are consumed by

larger fish, propelling the spread of PCB's to sunfish, perch, eels, trout,

bass, catfish, carp, and other fish.

The state draws distinctions among fish taken from the Housatonic which can be

safely eaten, according to Charles Fredette, supervising sanitary engineer in

the water management bureau of the division of planning and standards for the

state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

"You should not eat fish from the Housatonic River, with certain exceptions,"

he said.

The DEP recommends against eating fish taken from Lake Lillinonah, except for

yellow perch and sunfish. Sunfish, as defined by DEP, includes bluegill,

pumpkinseed and redbreast. Lake Lillinonah extends from Lovers Leap Gorge in

New Milford to Shepaug Dam.

The environmental agency recommends against eating fish taken from Lake Zoar

except for yellow perch, white perch, and sunfish. Lake Zoar runs from Shepaug

Dam to Stevenson Dam.

The DEP recommends that neither carp nor eels taken from Lake Housatonic be

eaten. Lake Housatonic extends from Stevenson Dam to Derby Dam.

The agency recommends against eating fish taken from the Bull's Bridge area,

except for yellow perch.

The health advisory stems from the collection and interpretation of scientific

data on the PCB contamination problem in the river, Mr Fredette said. Under an

agreement with DEP, GE in 1992 and 1994 had the levels of PCB's in various

fish scientifically measured.

Signs In Six Languages

To underscore the health advisory to various ethnic groups, the state has put

up posters in several languages on state properties along the river including

state boat launches. The information is posted in English, Spanish, Laotian,

Cambodian, Vietnamese and Hmong. Ethnic minority groups living in the

Bridgeport and New Haven areas use fish caught in the river as a food source.

The state is publicizing the health advisory with the assistance of refugee

assistance organizations.

"We're concerned about subsistence fisherpeople," said Gary Ginsberg, PhD, a

toxicologist with the environmental epidemiology and occupational health unit

of the state Department of Public Health (DPH).

Demographic research indicated the languages in which the health advisory

should be published to alert anglers to the PCB health hazard, he said.

Mr Fredette noted it will be decades to centuries before the PCB's lying on

the Houstonic river bed chemically decompose. "The half-life (of PCB's) really

hasn't been established," he said.

As time passes, the PCB's are becoming buried deeper in the riverbed, he said.

The highest PCB concentrations are now found in sediments below the riverbed

surface, he noted.