PCB levels result in fish warning
Pikeminnow from Lake Washington shouldn't be eaten
Because of high contamination levels, people should stop eating one kind of fish from Lake Washington and limit consumption of two other species, health officials said in the first such advisory for the lake at the heart of the Seattle region.
The highest average level of PCBs ever recorded in fish in this state turned up in northern pikeminnow from Lake Washington, and people should stop eating them immediately, officials announced yesterday. Commonly known as a squawfish, the pikeminnow is considered a "trash fish" and usually is discarded.
Authorities also recommended limiting consumption of the lake's cutthroat trout and yellow perch, which are more commonly eaten.
Despite the warning, people should continue to put fish on the dinner table regularly because it is a heart-healthy, low-fat protein source, state scientists said.
"We do not want people to stop eating fish from Lake Washington," said Dave McBride, a state Health Department toxicologist. "If they follow the recommendations, it's perfectly safe."
The highest levels of polychlorinated biphenyls were found in larger fish, which tend to concentrate more of the suspected carcinogen.
PCB levels in large Lake Washington pikeminnow were detected at 1,071 parts per billion, McBride said. PCB levels averaged 377 ppb in large cutthroat trout; 191 ppb in big yellow perch.
Pikeminnows are not a popular sport species in the lake, although McBride said some Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans consume them. Cutthroat trout are a prized fish among anglers, and some in the lake exceed 10 pounds. Yellow perch are also a popular game fish, eaten regularly by many anglers.
The state Health Department recommends that people eat no more than one meal per month of cutthroat longer than 12 inches or yellow perch longer than 10.5 inches. For smaller perch and cutthroat, the recommended limit is four and three meals per month, respectively.
It's particularly important for women who might one day become pregnant to follow the recommendations, health officials said.
News of the contamination didn't seem to discourage a small group of fishers angling for catfish and perch at Seward Park last night. Based on the Health Department's recommended consumption limits, most said they didn't eat enough of the fish they caught to be in danger.
"I do it more for the sport than the eating," said Jeff Scott as he cast his float and baited hook into Lake Washington.
Scott said he expected the news, which he and others had heard on TV, might discourage people from fishing at the lake last night, but it didn't. About half a dozen lined the lake bank near a parking lot to try their luck.
Another fisher, Dawana Brown, also said she eats safe amounts of the perch she catches at the lake, though no one was sure if the lake variety they were landing were the yellow perch in the advisory.
"It's kind of got me wondering," Brown said.
Environmental groups that have helped spotlight problems with fish contamination praised the Health Department for acting.
"They did do the right thing here, especially because they moved forward with an interim fish advisory rather than waiting for additional studies to be done," said Mo McBroom of the Washington Public Interest Research Group. "We've been working hard to get the Department of Health out in front on this issue. They're getting there now."
Environmentalists said the findings point up the need to restrict other long-lived industrial pollutants, including a chemical cousin of PCBs known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, a fire retardant widely used in consumer products.
The state Ecology and Health departments are considering what to recommend to the Legislature, McBroom said. California, Maine and the European Union have banned several types of PBDEs, and U.S. manufacturers have agreed to stop producing those forms.
But like PCBs, PBDEs already are turning up in orcas and other wild animals. Wildlife ecologists fear they may interfere with animals' reproduction and possibly other functions.
"The state has the opportunity to prevent the next environmental health crisis by banning all PBDEs now," said Laurie Valeriano of the Washington Toxics Coalition.
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PCB levels result in fish warning
