Monday, April 18, 2005
Mercury in Adirondack fish?
The department says women of childbearing age and children under age 15 should avoid eating: northern pike, pickerel, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and larger yellow perch from all waters in the Adirondack and Catskill mountain regions because of mercury contamination.
Not good.
Here's the original advisory issued Friday by the New York State Department of Health, which basically says you're insane to eat game fish caught in the Adirondacks, at least if you are of childbearing age or under 15 years old. It is hard to know, however, whether these warnings reflect actual material risk or bureaucratic rear-covering. There is much more background information here.
All the more reason to support this very worthy charity.
6 Comments:
By 
Charlottesvillain, at
Mon Apr 18, 11:01:00 AM:
By Sluggo, at
Mon Apr 18, 11:38:00 AM:
Yikes, thanks for the heads-up. We're heading up for our annual week in Warrensburg and there were a number of bass with Gracie's name on them.
By TigerHawk, at
Mon Apr 18, 04:58:00 PM:
Sluggo - The 'Villain and I both know Warrensburg well. Our family place is much farther north -- the Tupper Lake area -- but we pass through Warrensburg every time. I trust you're familiar with Oscar's?
By Chris, at
Mon Apr 18, 06:47:00 PM:
Working in an industry that has to have waste water tested monthly for contaminants, including mercury, I just wonder what the level of allowable mercury is, and if the regulations have been adjusted recently. The advisory does not give an actual reading. Typically, with heavy metals, they tend to set the limits very near the detection limits, and whenever instruments become more efficient, the limits are lowered. Our current limits in Illinois are 3ppb. That's parts per billion. Find the Chevy in the mall parking lot filled with 3 billion Fords.
By Sluggo, at
Mon Apr 18, 10:36:00 PM:
Good grief, we never leave Warrensburg without a wide array of dried meats from Oscars. You just can't get good venison jerky in the Heights.
I spent three years working in Lake Placid and one of my born-again brothers spent a lot of time at Word of Life. That's around Tupper, isn't it?
By TigerHawk, at
Mon Apr 18, 11:09:00 PM:
I'm afraid I don't know Word of Life. Our camp is actually a bit north of Tupper Lake, although we do most of our shopping (groceries, etc.) in Tupper.
Chris, thanks for the scientific input.
