State officials in North and South Carolina issued health advisories Thursday afternoon urging the public to stay away from largemouth bass and channel catfish in large portions of the Catawba River and its lakes due to contamination from polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs.
A public announcement released today by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services places the first-ever PCB consumption advisory in the Catawba River system on Mountain Island Lake, which is the primary source of drinking water for Charlotte, Mount Holly, Gastonia, Mint Hill, Matthews and Pineville.
Similarly, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control expanded its existing fish consumption advisory for PCBs to Lake Wylie, Fishing Creek Reservoir, Cedar Creek Reservoir and the Catawba River from Lake Wylie to Fishing Creek, a recently named South Carolina Scenic River.
“Health officials are recommending that people avoid eating channel catfish from Mountain Island Lake,” states a release from Julie Henry of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The announcement also advises against the consumption of largemouth bass in Mountain Island Lake but does not specify quantity.
Today, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control issued additional health consumption advisories for Lake Wylie, the Catawba River from Lake Wylie to Fishing Creek, Fishing Creek Reservoir and Cedar Creek Reservoir.
Due to high levels of PCBs found in fish tissue, DHEC recommends that the public eat no more than one meal per week of largemouth bass from Lake Wylie and the Catawba River from Lake Wylie to Fishing Creek. DHEC recommends that the public eat no more than one meal per month of largemouth bass from Fishing and Cedar Creek Reservoirs.
“These results undoubtedly show us that PCB contamination is a widespread problem in the Catawba River and its lakes,” states Catawba Riverkeeper David Merryman in response to today’s announcements.
“We need to continue sampling the Catawba from Lake James to Lake Norman and make sure the proper advisories are in place to protect residents from contaminated fish. Furthermore, the source of this contamination must be found and stopped them from further contaminating our River and its fish,”
PCBs can lead to the development of cancer, neurological development delays in children, infection, and skin and nail irritations and problems with the immune and reproductive systems.
Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation collected, analyzed and released largemouth bass fish tissue results in June 2010 showing elevated PCB concentrations in Mountain Island Lake.
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