State issues health warning for Columbia River fish

OLYMPIA — The Washington State Department of Health has issued a warning asking the public to limit the consumption of several species of fish along the Columbia River from the I-90 bridge near Vantage all the way to the McNary Dam along the Washington-Oregon border.

According to Dave McBride, a toxicologist with the State Department of Health and head of the department’s fish advisory program, elevated levels of mercury and PCBs — polychlorinated biphenyls — were found in a number of a species of fish.

“Mercury is a global pollutant. It can bleach out of rocks, and it can come from mining too. It’s primarily from the burning of coal, and it settles into the environment,” McBride said.

PCBs are also a global pollutant, McBride said, primarily used as coolants and insulators in electrical transformers and capacitors.

The state health department said anyone eating fish from the 150-mile stretch of the Columbia River should limit themselves to one meal per month of carp, mountain whitefish and white sturgeon; two meals a month of bridgelip sucker, largemouth bass and walleye; and four meals a month of smallmouth bass.

Salmon, shad, steelhead, and lamprey remain safe to eat, the department added.

The department also reiterated its statewide warning against eating any northern pike minnow.

“That wasn’t sampled, there’s a statewide advisory to limit the catch due to mercury,” McBride said.

McBride said the warning was the result of a U.S. Department of Energy study done several years ago to find what if any contamination from the shuttered Hanford Reservation has seeped into the Columbia River.

However, the state department of health also wants to continue encourage fish consumption — even fish caught from the Columbia River.

“Fish have benefits. They are a healthy source of protein and high in Omega-3 fatty acids,” McBride said. “We want to balance benefits and risks to help keep people safe.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com