Document dnpQErZg3170B518q4G8pvv3R

04H75.-96 09:57 fiLSERMfl PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICE NEWS RELEASE departmb 434 Monroe Slreei. Montgomery. Alabama 36130-3017 HO.224 P08t-it Fax Note Co./DepU^ Phone tt P001/003 7671 Dale From Co Phone (l Pa* H k IU ol w ^------ -----------" .. ~ ADPH revises fish consumption advisories FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Brian Hughes, Ph.D. (334) 613-5347 The Alabama Department of Public Health announces it has lifted its fish consumption advisories for the Tennessee River, but it has added new fish consumption advisories for the Fish River in Baldwin County, Logan-Martin Lake and Choccolocco Creek. Advisories are issued because toxic chemicals in lakes or rivers accumulate in fish tissue. The people who eat these fish may face health risks. These advisories are updated based on the results of fish tissue monitoring conducted by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Previous advisories to avoid or resU'ict consumption of fish taken from the Tennessee River have been removed. Tiiese recommendations are based on steadily decreasing DDT concentrations which fail below the Food and Drug Administration action level of five parts per million of DDT in fish. New advisories are as follows: Fish River: The public is advised not to eat iargemouth bass taken from the Fish River in Baldwin County because mercury levels have been found to exceed the FDA action level of 1 pail: per million. Mercury levels found in fish samples from the Fish River do not cause immediate health effects; however, at high levels mercury has been known to damage the nervous system and kidneys. Choccolocco Creek: The department recommends that people not eat fish taken from Choccolocco Creek. This advisory now extends from the point where Hillabee Creek and Choccolocco Creek meet: in Calhoun County downstream to Logan Martin Lake. This action is based on the results of Iargemouth bass and channel catfish sampling on Choccolocco Creek 2.5 miles east southeast of Oxford. The fish in this area were found to have PCB levels above the Food and Drug Administration's recommended level of 2 parts per million. (more) DSW 133187 STLCOPCB4033145 04/25/96 09:58 ALABAMA PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICE NO.224 P002/003 Fish advisories Add one Logan Martin Lake: Another fish consumption advisory is being issued for Logan Martin Lake. The public is advised not to eat largemouth bass, spotted bass and catfish from the lake. The department recommends that fish not be eaten from Logan Martin Lake because largemouth bass, spotted bass and catfish were found to contain levels of PCBs exceeding the FDA recommended level. The department recommends that these three species should not be consumed from an area near Riverside, Ala., in St. Clair County downsueam to the dam. PCBs are listed as possible cancer-causing agents in humans. When tested in levels greatly exceeding those typically found in the environment, PCBs have been associated with the following healtli effects: a skin disorder known as chloracne, changes in cholesterol and triglyceride levels in tire blood, and tumors in certain rodents. Advisories are made based on samples which were taken as a par t of a five-year fish program in which samples are analyzed annually. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management will provide additional testing this fall in the Coosa and Fish River areas. Current fish consumption advisories arc listed here: BODY OF WATER Coosa River PORTION Between Logan Martin Dam and Riverside Coosa River Huntsville Spring Branch & Indian Creek Between Riverside & Alabama-Georgia state line From Redstone Arsenal to tire Tennessee River (more) TYPE OF ADVISORY Do not consume largemouth and spotted bass and all species of catfish** Limited consumption of catfish over 1 pound* Do not consume channel catfish, smallmouth buffalo, brown bullhead, bigmouth buffalo, white bass** OSW 133188 STLCOPCB4033146 04/25/96 09:58 RLRBRMR PUBLIC HERLTH OFFICE NO.224 P003/003 Fish advisories Add two BODY OF WATER West Point: Lake to Lake Harding PORTION West Point Lake, Lake Harding & the intervening stretch of the Chattahoochee River TYPE OF ADVISORY Do not consume catfish** Cold Creek Swamp 10 miles south of the confluence of the Tombigbee River & Alabama River adjacent to the Mobile River Do not consume any fish** Tombigbee River Olin Basin at river mile 60.5 Do not consume largemouth bass, channel catfish** Choccolocco Creek Between the confluence of Hillabee Creek and Choccolocco Creek south of Oxford, downstream to where Choccolocco Creek flows into Logan Martin Lake . Do not. consume any fish** Fish River Do not consume largemouth bass** * A limited consumption advisory states that women of reproductive age and children less than 15 years old should avoid eating certain fish from these areas. Other people should limit their consumption of the particular species to one meal per month. ** Everyone should avoid eating the species of fish listed in the defined area. -30 4/24/96 OSW 133189 STLCOPCB4033147