Canadians Say Columbia River Fish Safe
British Columbia industries have cut pollution so much that Columbia River walleye and other fish no longer pose a health threat to people who eat them, Canadian biologists say.
“This is a good-news story,” said Carl Johnson of B.C. Environment, the provincial agency that tracks pollution.
Just across the border in Washington, the state Department of Health isn’t taking the Canadians’ word for it. The state agency still advises fishermen to limit the number of fish they eat from Lake Roosevelt, the reservoir that stretches from Grand Coulee Dam to the Canadian border.
A 1991 study showed Lake Roosevelt fish contained high levels of harmful chemicals, particularly dioxins. The contaminates came from the Celgar Pulp Co. mill and the Cominco Ltd. smelter in Canada.
Both industries have spent millions of dollars since 1991 to clean up their plants.
“Although information shows the dioxin levels are going down, scientific information shows that the toxicity of dioxin may be higher than we thought,” said health department spokesman Matt Ashworth.
The state may lift its advisory after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency completes a study on Lake Roosevelt pollution this summer, Ashworth said.
In 1988, B.C. Environment warned people against eating more than one meal of Columbia River walleye each week. The fish showed unhealthy concentrations of mercury, said the agency.
It warned against regular meals of another Columbia River species, whitefish, after studies in 1990 and 1991 showed high levels of dioxins and furans in the fish. Those chemicals are suspected causes of cancer and birth defects.
B.C. Environment now is distributing a pamphlet announcing that fish from the river “will not exceed the Health Canada recommended daily intake for mercury, dioxins and furans.”
The 1991 advisory in Washington advises anglers to remove the skin and fat from fish before cooking, keep only small fish, reduce the size of portions and limit the number of meals each month.
, DataTimes