Minnesota Department of Health

News Release

August 16, 2007

Contact information

Analysis of fish from additional metro area lakes prompts changes in fish consumption advice for specific lakes
PFOS measured in fish tissue poses health concern if species eaten too often

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) today issued new advice for people who eat fish caught in several metro area lakes after the chemical perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was detected in fish taken from those waters.

The following lakes have new fish consumption advice:

• Ramsey County – Como, and the chain of lakes including Phalen, Gervais, Gervais Mill Pond, Round, Keller, Kohlman and Spoon.
• Washington County - Demontreville, Olson, Lake Elmo, and Ravine.

The advice ranges from one meal per week to one meal per month, depending on the species of fish and the lake, and is similar to MDH’s statewide safe eating guidelines. MDH encourages people to eat fish for its many health benefits while making wise choices about which fish to eat and how often.

Of the Ramsey County chain, only fish from Phalen and Gervais were tested, but the other lakes were included in the advisory because those lakes are connected by open channels through which fish can move.

Fish from Bald Eagle, White Bear and Square Lakes were also tested, but PFOS was not detected or was found at levels too low to prompt a more restrictive advisory. Therefore, the existing advice for these lakes, based on mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), remains in effect.

The new advice is based on analysis of recently completed fish sampling that is part of a larger, ongoing investigation of perfluorochemical contamination in Minnesota fish, surface and ground waters, soil and air by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).

The fish sampling was part of MPCA’s response to finding elevated levels of perfluorochemicals in fish from Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis earlier this year. About 30 lakes in the metro area were selected for sampling to see if the Calhoun findings were unusual or whether other metro lakes also could be affected. So far, data analysis has been completed on fish fillets from 10 lakes.

The exact source of PFOS in urban lakes is not known. Officials said it was possible that elevated levels in several fish species in Lake Elmo are related to the nearby 3M waste disposal sites, which are known to have affected ground water in the east Twin Cities metro area.

PFOS appears to be the compound from the perfluorochemical family that accumulates most abundantly in fish. It has been measured in fillets of certain fish at levels of health concern for people who eat these fish too often. Although the levels of PFCs in the lake water were not measured, the levels in these lakes are not likely to be a health concern for swimming or incidental swallowing of water. This is based on results from other lakes and rivers and more data is needed.

MPCA officials said results for the other lakes will become available in batches over the next two to three months. The MPCA’s planned next steps are to determine which lakes need follow-up testing, and then look for possible sources in the watersheds of those with actionable PFC levels. MDH will continue to review and update fish consumption advice as new information from the investigation of metro and out-state waters becomes available.

To find out the recommended meals per month for specific species from each lake, consult the tables in the Fish Consumption Advisory on the MDH Website at http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/fish/index.html.

For answers to frequently asked questions about MDH’s fish consumption advice, see http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/fish/faq.html.

For general information about PFCs and Health, see http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/hazardous/topics/pfcs/index.html.

For information on MPCA’s sampling program, see the MPCA Web site at
http://www.pca.state.mn.us/.

-MDH-

For more information, contact:

Doug Schultz
MDH Communications
(651) 201-4993

Ralph Pribble
MPCA Public Information
(651) 296-7792

Pat McCann
MDH Environmental Health
(651) 201-4915

Paul Hoff
MDH Environmental Outcomes
(651) 296-7799

Dirk Peterson
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Central Region Fisheries
(651) 772-7954

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