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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Aug. 21, 2003 DOH #03-144
Ecology #03-160
Ecology Dept. announces new cleanup plan for Spokane River and Lake
SPOKANE -- The Spokane River and Lake Spokane (also known as Long Lake) are about to undergo an intense effort to reduce polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). At the same time, the state Department of Health is releasing the results from a new study showing that fish from Lake Spokane are safe to eat. Existing fish consumption advisories remain in effect in some other stretches of the Spokane River.
Concerns about PCB-contaminated fish in the Spokane River prompted the state Department of Health, the Department of Ecology (Ecology), and the Spokane Regional Health District to issue a fish-consumption advisory in 1999 that was updated in March 2001.
New data evaluated by the Department of Health shows that fish in Lake Spokane are lower in PCBs than in other parts of the river. The current advisory recommends that no one eat more than one meal a month of any kind of fish caught between Nine Mile Dam to Upriver Dam, and that no fish caught between Upriver Dam and the Idaho border should be consumed.
The Department of Health encourages people to eat fish from Lake Spokane but to be aware of ways to reduce PCBs through good preparation and cooking methods.
Specific standards are in place for water-quality and for fish contamination. While the new health study shows fish from the lake are safe to eat, water-quality concerns remain.
Several areas on these water bodies violate water-quality standards for PCBs. They are on the state’s list of impaired water bodies that are required to have water-quality cleanup plans created.
Ecology will soon begin developing the water-quality cleanup plan for PCBs in the river and lake through an intensive study of PCBs in the river and their sources.
After the study is complete, scientists will analyze how much pollution must be reduced from sources to meet water-quality standards. Then, with help from the community, they will select and implement appropriate control measures. Follow-up monitoring will help determine the success of the cleanup effort.
Water-quality cleanup plans, also known as "total maximum daily loads" (TMDLs), are required by the federal Clean Water Act to restore water to a healthy and safe condition.
Similar plans are already in place in the Spokane River for metals (lead, cadmium and zinc) and for phosphorus (a nutrient that feeds plants) to control excessive algae blooms in Lake Spokane.
"We are working to let anglers know what is and isn’t safe to eat, while also seeking a brighter future for the river and lake," said René-Marc Mangin, who manages Ecology’s Eastern Washington region. "This plan will include ideas and solutions from the entire community."
PCBs were used in the past for several commercial and industrial purposes. The U.S. banned the manufacture of PCBs in 1977 because they build up in the environment and can be harmful to humans and wildlife. PCB exposure can occur by eating food, including fish, meat and dairy products contaminated by PCBs; by drinking PCB-contaminated water; or by breathing air near hazardous-waste sites that contain PCBs.
Meanwhile, citizens who want more information on fish-consumption advisories in Washington can go to the Department of Health Fish Facts Web site (www.doh.wa.gov/fish/default.htm).
The Web page on preparing fish (www.doh.wa.gov/fish/FishAdvPreparing.htm) provides guidance for reducing certain contaminants in fish, including PCBs.
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Contact:
Jani Gilbert, Ecology, 509-329-3495; pager, 509-622-1289
Marcia Henning, Department of Health, 360-236-3378, or toll free, 1-877-485-7316
Donn Moyer, Department of Health Communications, 360-236-4076
For more information:
Spokane River
health advisories (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0209076.pdf or
www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/oehas/EHA_fish_adv.htm)
Health effects of PCBs
(http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts17.html)
Fishing
regulations (http://www.wa.gov/wdfw/fish/regs/2003/2003sportregs.pdf).
Ecology's Web site (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/)
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