State issues advisory against eating fish from Trinity River

Jul. 07, 2010
By DOMINGO RAMIREZ JR.
ramirez@star-telegram.com
A fish consumption advisory was issued Wednesday by a state agency warning people not to consume any species of fish from the Trinity River in Tarrant, Dallas, Ellis, Kaufman, Henderson Navarro, Freestone and Anderson counties.
The advisory by the Texas Department of State Health Services was issued after tests indicated that fish taken from the river had elevated levels of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyl’s or PCBs.
The agency warned that long-term consumption of fish with dioxins and PCBs might cause cancer and liver, immune system and reproductive problems.
State officials said that PCBs are industrial chemicals once used as coolants and lubricants in electrical equipment. The Environmental Protection Agency banned PCBs in 1979, but items containing it did not have to be replaced.
Dioxins are byproducts of combustion and industrial activity, state officials said.
PCB levels in fish about 0.047 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) may pose a risk to human health, according to state standards. The levels in fish taken from the Trinity River was at 0.185 mg/kg and they were as high as 1.301 mg/kg, state officials said.
Levels of dioxins averaged 2.64 picograms per gram (pg/g), above the state standards of 2.33 pg/g.
State officials, however, noted that the high levels of PCBs and dioxins in fish do not pose a health risk for people swimming or taking part in any water recreation activities.
The advisory includes the Clear Fork of the Trinity River from the Benbrook Reservoir Dam and the West Fork of the Trinity River from the Lake Worth Dam to the U.S. 287 bridge on the Freestone-Anderson county line.
DOMINGO RAMIREZ JR., 817-390-7763


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