LITTLE KANAWHA RIVER FISH EATING RESTRICTED - Mercury Level Could Cause Problem

(12/14/2004)
If you're eating lots of fish out of the Little Kanawha River, you might want to re-think your menu.

The Bureau for Public Health, Division of Natural Resources and Department of Environmental Protection have issued a fish consumption advisory related to the amount of Mercury in the LK.

Mercury contamination could cause a problem for individuals if too many fish are consumed.

A two-year study that sampled fish from 56 locations prompted state health, environmental and natural resource officials to issue a statewide advisory warning residents about possible mercury contamination from fish caught in state waterways.

The alert, which covers other contaminants, suggests how much fish can actually be eaten from a high risk stream.

Sixteen other streams and lakes have been put on an advisory list for having contaminants and restricting the amount of fish consumed by anglers:

Flat Fork Creek, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)

Hughes River, Mercury

Kanawha River, down stream from Dunbar Dioxin, Mercury, PCBs

Kanawha River, up stream from Dunbar PCB

Meadow River, Mercury

Middle Island Creek, Mercury

Monongahela River,PCB

Potomac River, Dioxin

North Branch of Potomac River, Dioxin

North Fork of South Branch of Potomac, Mercury

South Fork of South Branch of Potomac, Mercury

Ohio River, entire length in W.Va. PCB, Mercury, Dioxin

R.D. Bailey Lake, PCS

Shenandoah River, PCB

Sleepy Creek Lake, Mercury

Wheeling Creek, Mercury