New Fish Consumption Advisories Issued for Two Local Waterways
Washington PA Observer-Reporter
3 January 2010
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the state departments of
Environmental Protection, Health and Agriculture have released new
lists of fish consumption advisories and two local waterways are
affected.
New advisories are in place for Chartiers Creek from Canonsburg to the
mouth and Little Chartiers Creek from Canonsburg Lake Dam to the mouth
for largemouth bass and carp as a result of Chlordane contamination.
An advisory was also issued for the Monongahela River from Pool 4
between the Maxwell Lock and Dam and Lock and Dam 4 in Fayette and
Washington counties for channel catfish as a result of Chlordane
contamination.
Chlordane was a pesticide used for termites during the '50s through the
'80s. It has been linked to serious illness among both adults and
children following its application and links to cancer in animals.
It was banned by the EPA in March of 1988, but it is estimated that the
chemical was used on 30 million homes throughout the U.S.
Fish caught in Chartiers Creek and in Pool 4 of the Monongahela River
can still be eaten, but to reduce the potential risk of exposure to
organic contaminants, they should be properly cleaned, skinned and
cooked before consumption.
Proper preparation includes trimming away fat and broiling or grilling
the fish to allow remaining fat to drip away. Juices and fats that cook
out of the fish should not be eaten or reused for cooking or preparing
other foods.
More information on fish consumption advisories and the most current
advisories are available online at www.depweb.state.pa.us, keyword:
"Fish Advisories."
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has announced it will begin
conducting field inspections of active drilling sites for Marcellus
Shale gas wells this month.
The only question is, what took so long?
As we have seen locally in both Dunkard Creek and at Cross Creek Lake,
spills from these sites can be devastating for fish and other aquatic
life the Fish and Boat Commission is charged with protecting.
"Until now our agency has only reacted to those drilling sites where a
problem resulted in material entering a waterway or wetlands," said Dr.
Douglas Austen, PFBC executive director. "We are now taking a proactive
approach to identify possible problems at a drilling site and to work
with the company to ensure necessary measures are in place to minimize
the possibility of damaging nearby waterways."
The commission said it will focus on well sites in close proximity to
waterways, including wetlands. The inspections will determine if
adequate measures are in place at the drilling site and access roads to
prevent damage to the nearby aquatic resources.
As part of the inspections, the commission will also be obtaining water
quality data from several locations in the nearby waterway.
"The commission recognizes the need for and importance of the
development of the Marcellus Shale for gas production and believes it
can be accomplished in a manner that provides protection to
Pennsylvania's valuable aquatic resources," Austen added. "Because of
the importance of this issue,waterways conservation officers and field
staff have set aside other job duties and functions for a period of
time in order to conduct these field inspections."
Outdoors Editor F. Dale Lolley can be reached at
dlolley@observer-reporter.com