Updated Fish Consumption Advisories Issued
For Tennessee

Advisories Reflect New, More Conservative Water Quality Criterion
for Mercury in Fish

Nashville, Tenn. - The Department of Environment and Conservation has announced several additions to Tennessee's list of precautionary fish consumption advisories as a result of the trigger point for issuing a mercury advisory being lowered to 0.3 parts per million (ppm).

"Recent studies indicate that mercury has potential neurological effects on children at lower levels than previously thought," said Paul Davis, director of the Division of Water Pollution Control. "Because of this new research and based on EPA's new water quality criterion, the mercury advisory trigger point is being lowered to a more conservative level."

State law requires the department to inform the public and post warnings where contaminants in fish pose a possible threat to people who might catch and eat them.

"Eating fish with elevated levels of mercury is a risk Tennesseans can avoid," said Deputy Commissioner for Environment Paul Sloan. "Fishing advisories give fishermen and their families the information they need to make informed decisions about limiting their intake or avoiding fish from specific stream segments or bodies of water."

Unlike "do not consume" advisories that warn the general population to avoid eating fish from a particular body of water altogether, precautionary fish consumption advisories are directed at sensitive populations such as children, pregnant women, nursing mothers and those who eat fish frequently from the same body of water.

Three existing advisories in Shelby, Loudon and Monroe Counties were modified to include mercury and seven new precautionary advisories for mercury were issued today. Two existing "do not consume" mercury advisories for the North Fork Holston River and East Fork Poplar Creek were not altered.

"It's important to understand that the risk associated with these advisories pertains specifically to the consumption of fish," said Davis. "Swimming and wading in these waters or catching and releasing fish are activities that do not expose the public to an increased risk from mercury. In addition, people should be mindful that fish are a generally healthy source of high-quality protein and other essential nutrients, low in saturated fat and contain omega-3 fatty acids. While contaminated fish should be avoided, fish remain an important component of a healthy diet."

According to EPA, mercury is a naturally occurring element that can be found throughout the environment. Forest fires and human activities, such as burning coal, some industrial processes and waste incineration, have caused the amount of mercury in parts of the environment to increase. The primary way people in the U.S. are exposed to mercury is by eating fish containing methylmercury, a toxic form of mercury that accumulates easily in organisms.

"While our first priority is to warn the public about areas with fish that have elevated levels of mercury, we are also taking steps, such as a multi-agency study of mercury in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, to try and determine if local sources of mercury have contributed to concentrations in Tennessee fish," said Sloan.

The following areas have existing "do not consume" advisories that have been modified to include mercury:


Waterbody


County

Type(s) of Fish Covered

Previous Basis
for Advisory

Revised Basis
for Advisory

Mississippi River and McKellar Lake

Shelby

All fish species.

Chlordane, Other Organics (PCBs, dieldrin, aldrin, dioxin)

Chlordane,
Other Organics, Mercury

Wolf River and Loosahatchie River

Shelby

All fish species.

Chlordane,
Other Organics

Chlordane,
Other Organics, Mercury

Tellico Reservoir

Loudon
Monroe

Catfish

PCBs

PCBs and Mercury

New precautionary fish consumption advisories are also being issued for the following seven areas. In these waters, the public is advised that sensitive populations including children, pregnant women and nursing mothers should avoid eating the type of fish included in the advisory. Others should limit consumption of these types of fish from these waters to one or two meals per month.


Waterbody


County


Extent of Advisory

Type(s) of Fish Covered

Buffalo River

Perry
Humphreys

From the mouth upstream to Highway 438 (mile 31.6). (This is a tentative determination of impacted waters. Additional studies will be done in the summer of 2007 to more accurately determine the extent of elevated mercury levels in Buffalo River fish.)

Smallmouth bass

Emory River

Roane
Morgan

From Highway 27 bridge near Harriman (mile 12.4) upstream to Camp Austin Road bridge (mile 21.8).

All fish species

Hiwassee River

Meigs
McMinn
Bradley

From Highway 58 (mile 7.4) upstream to the railroad bridge upstream of Highway 11 (mile 18.9).

Largemouth bass

Norris Reservoir

Campbell
Anderson
Union
Claiborne
Grainger

Clinch River portion of the reservoir. (Powell River embayment is not included in advisory and neither is the free-flowing portion of the Clinch above the impounded part of Norris Reservoir.)

Largemouth bass

Holston River

Hawkins
Sullivan

From the mouth of Poor Valley Creek (River Mile 89) upstream to the confluence to the North and South Fork of the Holston near Kingsport.

All fish species

South Holston Lake

Sullivan

Tennessee portion. (The upper part of the lake is Virginia. The state line is at approximately river mile 62.9)

Largemouth bass

Watauga Reservoir

Carter
Johnson

Entire lake

Largemouth bass and
channel catfish

Where new advisories have been issued, the department will immediately begin the process of putting up signs at primary public access points. The Department of Environment and Conservation and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency also plan to work in partnership on the collection and analysis of additional fish tissue samples this summer.