Upcoming Department of Ecology Policy Forum to Discuss New Report Regarding Fish Consumption Rates

Published Feb 04, 2013

The Department of Ecology continues to evaluate science and policy for potential new human health water quality standards for toxics. A new Ecology report about how much fish Washington residents eat informs this discussion, and this report, along with other information on toxic chemical levels in freshwater areas of Washington, will be covered at a policy forum on Friday, February 8, 2013.

Last week, the DOE published "An Assessment of the Chlorinated Pesticide Background in Washington State Freshwater Fish and Implications for 303(d) Listings." Ecology collected fish tissue samples from lakes across Washington State in 2010 and 2011 and analyzed the samples for 29 chlorinated pesticides. This data was then used to prioritize 303(d)-listed waterbodies and to support revisions to the water quality standards for chlorinated pesticides.

The report evaluates background (i.e., areas with no significant source of contaminants other than atmospheric deposition) concentrations of chlorinated pesticides in freshwater areas of Washington. It also considers how different fish consumption rate choices made in human health-based criteria calculations would affect 303(d) listings using Fish Tissue Equivalent Concentrations (FTEC). For example, chlorinated pesticide criteria were re-calculated for a variety of fish consumption rates, ranging from 6.5 grams per day to 250 grams per day. For more information, contact James Tupper at tupper@tmw-law.com.

  • To see the full Department of Ecology report, click here.
  • For more details on the upcoming meeting, click here.

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