Riverkeeper Completes Mercury Testing – Smallmouth Bass Exceed EPA Standards
This week the results from Willamette Riverkeeper’s Mercury Testing Project were completed, providing renewed concern about Mercury levels in resident fish. WRK collected fish in July and sent them to be tested for Mercury concentrations to a lab in North Carolina. Of the ten fish collected, 6 of the 10 exceeded the EPA Standard of .3ppm. The fish were caught just below, and just above Willamette Falls near Oregon City.
“While this is a relatively small data set, it underscores the need to reduce Mercury in the Willamette River,” said Travis Williams, Executive Director of Willamette Riverkeeper. “It is critical that the TMDL for Mercury that is being considered works to precisely determine sources of mercury, and works toward an overall reduction in the Mercury load in the river,” he said.
The Willamette River provides great fishing opportunities for Oregon’s anglers. Unfortunately for those wish to consume their catch, there may be health risks stemming from the toxins that predatory fish tend to accumulate. One of the most widespread and harmful contaminants is mercury. While a small amount of mercury enters our waters naturally, the majority comes from the deposition of airborne vehicle exhaust, runoff from mining, and direct municipal and industrial effluent. Largely due to Mercury in fish tissue in Oregon, the State of Oregon has had a fish consumption advisory for all resident fish, recommending smaller portions.
RISKS - The developing fetus and young children are especially vulnerable to the effects of mercury. Exposure of pregnant women to mercury lowers birth weight and can cause severe brain damage and birth defects in children. This further underscores the need for the fish advisory.
To protect human and ecological health, new data on fish contamination is always helpful. As part of the Willamette Basin Total Maximum Daily Load, The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality tested a number of fish species at several sites along the Willamette and its tributaries. In order to provide information on the contamination levels of fish in the Portland area and contribute to the efforts of the DEQ, Willamette Riverkeeper teamed up with the Waterkeeper Alliance, the Department of Environmental Quality, and several members of the Oregon Bass and Panfish Club (Bill Egan, Terry Wu, Tom Nelson) to catch smallmouth bass for mercury analysis.
Smallmouth Bass were chosen since they are a popular game fish that is under-represented in the DEQ’s dataset. The Willamette Falls area in Oregon City was selected as a sample site since little information on mercury levels in fish tissue exists for this area. 5 smallmouth bass were caught both above and below Willamette Falls on July 21, 2005 by Oregon Bass and Panfish Club members. The fish were shipped to the Environmental Quality Institute at University of North Carolina for analysis. Expenses were covered by the Waterkeeper Alliance. Training on fish handling and data collection was provided by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
The EPA standard for mercury in fish tissue is .3 ppm. The FDA standard is 1.0 ppm. From our results, we see that the concentration of mercury in several fish violated the EPA standard while none violated the FDA standard. Also, it is evident that mercury concentration increases with fish size. This is to be expected as larger fish are more effective predators and mercury concentration increases as organisms ascend the food chain.
It is important that Oregonians monitor contaminant levels in their water and aquatic organisms. The data provided by Willamette Riverkeeper and its partners demonstrates the current level of contamination in a popular game fish.
“While this is a relatively small data set, it underscores the need to reduce Mercury in the Willamette River,” said Travis Williams, Executive Director of Willamette Riverkeeper. “It is critical that the TMDL for Mercury that is being considered works to precisely determine sources of mercury, and works toward an overall reduction in the Mercury load in the river,” he said.
The Willamette River provides great fishing opportunities for Oregon’s anglers. Unfortunately for those wish to consume their catch, there may be health risks stemming from the toxins that predatory fish tend to accumulate. One of the most widespread and harmful contaminants is mercury. While a small amount of mercury enters our waters naturally, the majority comes from the deposition of airborne vehicle exhaust, runoff from mining, and direct municipal and industrial effluent. Largely due to Mercury in fish tissue in Oregon, the State of Oregon has had a fish consumption advisory for all resident fish, recommending smaller portions.
RISKS - The developing fetus and young children are especially vulnerable to the effects of mercury. Exposure of pregnant women to mercury lowers birth weight and can cause severe brain damage and birth defects in children. This further underscores the need for the fish advisory.
To protect human and ecological health, new data on fish contamination is always helpful. As part of the Willamette Basin Total Maximum Daily Load, The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality tested a number of fish species at several sites along the Willamette and its tributaries. In order to provide information on the contamination levels of fish in the Portland area and contribute to the efforts of the DEQ, Willamette Riverkeeper teamed up with the Waterkeeper Alliance, the Department of Environmental Quality, and several members of the Oregon Bass and Panfish Club (Bill Egan, Terry Wu, Tom Nelson) to catch smallmouth bass for mercury analysis.
Smallmouth Bass were chosen since they are a popular game fish that is under-represented in the DEQ’s dataset. The Willamette Falls area in Oregon City was selected as a sample site since little information on mercury levels in fish tissue exists for this area. 5 smallmouth bass were caught both above and below Willamette Falls on July 21, 2005 by Oregon Bass and Panfish Club members. The fish were shipped to the Environmental Quality Institute at University of North Carolina for analysis. Expenses were covered by the Waterkeeper Alliance. Training on fish handling and data collection was provided by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
The EPA standard for mercury in fish tissue is .3 ppm. The FDA standard is 1.0 ppm. From our results, we see that the concentration of mercury in several fish violated the EPA standard while none violated the FDA standard. Also, it is evident that mercury concentration increases with fish size. This is to be expected as larger fish are more effective predators and mercury concentration increases as organisms ascend the food chain.
It is important that Oregonians monitor contaminant levels in their water and aquatic organisms. The data provided by Willamette Riverkeeper and its partners demonstrates the current level of contamination in a popular game fish.
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