Washington state's freshwater fish tainted, study says
Chemical used in flame retardants is culprit
Fish from Lake Washington and the Snohomish River are among the most contaminated in the state when it comes to chemical flame retardants, according to government research released Thursday.
The results are part of the first widespread investigation into the presence of these chemicals in Washington lakes and rivers.
What isn't clear is how serious a threat the contamination is for people catching and eating cutthroat trout and other freshwater fish. That's because there isn't yet an official limit set for exposure. However, local fish are contaminated at levels significantly below what limited guidelines are available.
State officials urge people to continue eating fish but recommend removing the fat when cooking it because that's where certain toxic chemicals tend to concentrate. They also suggest avoiding long-lived creatures that are likely to have built up higher levels of pollutants.
"We just haven't gotten to a point yet where the science can definitively tell us what the dangerous levels are," said Glenn Kuper, a spokesman for the state Ecology Department, which conducted the study. "We're hoping that the research can catch up quickly enough."
Research has linked high levels of the flame retardants with problems in neurological development, reproduction and altered hormone levels in laboratory animals.
Some say setting exposure limits is beside the point.
"The real solution for the public is to eliminate these chemicals and have the healthiest fish we can have," said Laurie Valeriano, policy director for the Washington Toxics Coalition, an environmental organization that has pushed for a ban on the compounds.
The difficulty with guidelines is that there can be multiple chemicals that cause similar problems in people, she said, and it can be hard to know what their combined effects are.
Continue reading this article from the Seattle P-I:
State's freshwater fish tainted, study says
3 Comments:
#16583 - Bob Baldwin
Greetings ... My wife and I h ave just completed a trip, west to east, through Chinook Pass, and returned west through North Cascades Pass. The forests at mid elevations seem to be suffering damage and mortality over vast areas from what appears to be a Spruce Budworm infestation. I have scoured the Web, including Earth Share, for information and have drawn a blank. My sense is that a major loss of forest, notably of Douglas-fir, but also of Abies species, and possibly also of Engleman Spruce, is underway. The huge fire north of Winthrop, presently at about 175,000 acres is said to be fueled principally by bug-killed trees (bark beetlles). There seems to be a potential for a vastly larger and possible or probable cataclismic fire finale to the insect-caused fuel build up now occuring along the full reach of the Cascades, mainly east side. Is there some agency that is following this condition? I find no mention of it on the websites of USDA or the affected National Forests, nor of DNR. Why do I find no consideration of this developing disaster in the archives of Earth Share?
#24024 - Lee Kukuczka
Hello to all, I am also concerned about the spruce budworm disaster in eastern washington. I live in Yakima and am often in the woods west of here.
Why is it that no one is saying anything about this? I have called the local news stations here after they ran a story of it, all of about 1 minute...that didn't even come close to what is going on in this part of the Cascades and told them that very thing. I have even looked it up on a search of your site here, nothing!
I suggest you get in youre vehicle, take a drive over here and see for yourself, call me, I will be more than happy to show you around, off of the highway so you can really see for yourselves the scope of this.
I am wondering if you really stand for what you say or if you are just another "me too" group. With all respect, Lee
#24054 - Dave
Hello Robert,
I received your comment on our website and I wanted to take a moment to respond to your inquiry about the threat of forest fires as a result of pine beetle infestation in Northwest forests. We have covered the story on a couple of occasions, mostly in the context of climate change’s contribution to the proliferation of the mountain pine beetle. However, you raise an interesting point about the increased threat of forest fire as a result.
Most of the stories that we have covered on the matter are republished from our friends over at Sightline Institute, an environmental “think tank� based in Seattle. They have quite a few blog entries in their Cascadia Scorecard News section of their website. I recommend a visit to sightline.org and type in a search for beetle or “pine beetle� in their Search form.
You can also find more info on our website:
http://www.esw.org/news/archives/2006/03/insects_at_epidemic_levels_in.php
http://www.esw.org/news/archives/2004/08/burning_news.php
http://www.esw.org/news/archives/2003/09/global_warming_forest_fires_an.php
I’m forwarding your inquiry along to the resident experts at Sightline, Clark Williams-Derry and Eric de Place. Hopefully, they’ll have a moment to address your questions. In the meantime, I’ll keep my eyes peeled for a news story from them, as they usually respond to reader inquiries. If they do publish something, I’ll be sure to post it on the Earth Share website. Your concerns also might make an excellent letter to the editor at the local paper, please let me know if you’d like any pointers composing an article, I’m sure you could enlighten many Washington residents to this impending threat.
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#16583 - Bob Baldwin
Greetings ... My wife and I h ave just completed a trip, west to east, through Chinook Pass, and returned west through North Cascades Pass. The forests at mid elevations seem to be suffering damage and mortality over vast areas from what appears to be a Spruce Budworm infestation. I have scoured the Web, including Earth Share, for information and have drawn a blank. My sense is that a major loss of forest, notably of Douglas-fir, but also of Abies species, and possibly also of Engleman Spruce, is underway. The huge fire north of Winthrop, presently at about 175,000 acres is said to be fueled principally by bug-killed trees (bark beetlles). There seems to be a potential for a vastly larger and possible or probable cataclismic fire finale to the insect-caused fuel build up now occuring along the full reach of the Cascades, mainly east side. Is there some agency that is following this condition? I find no mention of it on the websites of USDA or the affected National Forests, nor of DNR. Why do I find no consideration of this developing disaster in the archives of Earth Share?
#24024 - Lee Kukuczka
Hello to all, I am also concerned about the spruce budworm disaster in eastern washington. I live in Yakima and am often in the woods west of here.
Why is it that no one is saying anything about this? I have called the local news stations here after they ran a story of it, all of about 1 minute...that didn't even come close to what is going on in this part of the Cascades and told them that very thing. I have even looked it up on a search of your site here, nothing!
I suggest you get in youre vehicle, take a drive over here and see for yourself, call me, I will be more than happy to show you around, off of the highway so you can really see for yourselves the scope of this.
I am wondering if you really stand for what you say or if you are just another "me too" group. With all respect, Lee
#24054 - Dave
Hello Robert,
I received your comment on our website and I wanted to take a moment to respond to your inquiry about the threat of forest fires as a result of pine beetle infestation in Northwest forests. We have covered the story on a couple of occasions, mostly in the context of climate change’s contribution to the proliferation of the mountain pine beetle. However, you raise an interesting point about the increased threat of forest fire as a result.
Most of the stories that we have covered on the matter are republished from our friends over at Sightline Institute, an environmental “think tank� based in Seattle. They have quite a few blog entries in their Cascadia Scorecard News section of their website. I recommend a visit to sightline.org and type in a search for beetle or “pine beetle� in their Search form.
You can also find more info on our website:
http://www.esw.org/news/archives/2006/03/insects_at_epidemic_levels_in.php
http://www.esw.org/news/archives/2004/08/burning_news.php
http://www.esw.org/news/archives/2003/09/global_warming_forest_fires_an.php
I’m forwarding your inquiry along to the resident experts at Sightline, Clark Williams-Derry and Eric de Place. Hopefully, they’ll have a moment to address your questions. In the meantime, I’ll keep my eyes peeled for a news story from them, as they usually respond to reader inquiries. If they do publish something, I’ll be sure to post it on the Earth Share website. Your concerns also might make an excellent letter to the editor at the local paper, please let me know if you’d like any pointers composing an article, I’m sure you could enlighten many Washington residents to this impending threat.