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stefan
02-04-2007, 03:38 PM
Sampling Finds Increased Mercury Contamination in Utah Fish


SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A two-year study of mercury contamination in Utah's waterways has found 14 additional sites where fish carry contaminants at higher levels than considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The findings come from the Utah Division of Water Quality.

Division assistant Director John Whitehead says the public needs to know about the contamination sites.

The EPA says mercury contamination is of concern when it reaches .03 milligrams per kilogram of fish. The rate is tied to chronic eating of mercury contaminated fish.

Utah sampling of nearly 12-hundred fish in 220 locations found 125 samples where mercury contamination was higher.

The highest levels were found in splake fish in Joes Valley Reservoir, rainbow trout in Upper Enterprise Reservoir and brown trout in Jordanelle Reservoir.

Information from: The Deseret Morning News

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

stefan
02-04-2007, 03:53 PM
Levels in Utah locations increasing, some surpass acceptable EPA limits

SUU Journal

2005-2006 testing shows that mercury levels in some Utah fish are rising and some species in popular fishing spots are above the prescribed limit set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

At a meeting of the Statewide Mercury Work Group on Thursday John Whitehead, Utah Division of Water Quality assistant director, provided an overview of the results of mercury testing in Utah fish.

According to these results, 95 of 821 samples of fish tissue, 12 percent, were above the EPA-imposed limit of .3 micrograms (?g) of mercury per kilogram of flesh.

While 45 of the 139 sites tested contained fish that measured above the .30 ?g/kg limit, most sites averaged in an acceptable range.

Among those 14 sites with an above-limit mean average, the mercury levels ranged from .31 ?g/kg in Yellow Perch at Jordanelle Reservoir to .82 ?g/kg in Splake Trout at Joes Valley Reservoir.

Whitehead said more testing in these areas is required by the DWQ before any further action can be taken regarding these areas of concern.

"Admittedly, our sample sizes are small because of financial constraints," Whitehead said. "We need to complete our analysis in order to identify which areas present actual problems."

Whitehead also said the DWQ is delaying plans to test the mercury levels in the Great Salt Lake, which are higher than many places in the country.

"We are not funded to do the kind of testing we have planned for the Great Salt Lake," Whitehead said. "We want to analyze water columns, test lake sediments and organism food chains among aquatic animals and water foul. We are asking for grant money from the legislature and the EPA, but nothing has come through yet."

If it is determined that the fish in these sites average above the EPA limit, fish consumption advisories will be put in place for those species in them.

According to the DWQ Web site, www.waterquality.utah.gov, three sites in Utah Gunlock Reservoir, Green River and Mill Creek already have fish consumption advisories in place.

Whitehead said the DWQ does not want to scare people from eating fish from these areas should fish consumption advisories be placed.

"We want the public to understand that if an advisory is set, it is still healthy to eat fish," Whitehead said. "The advisories are meant to inform people about eating large quantities of these fish over an extended period of time."