Document 1Qabvew8eb4zzJ5V5omRRJ9VX

COLUMBIA, S. a RECORD D. 32,000 MAR 2 4 1976 Eating Some Fish A Hazard <e) Ntw Vr* Ttmw N*wt Servlet I NEW YORK -- Spring more then any other season, is uiully1 celebrated by (iabdovinc (aetremmee (or iu early naa of ahad and their biahly prtaad roe, and for the abun dance of striped hast. In addition, the seasonal de mand for trerimater species such at can. pike and whitefish is xroatiy increased, since those fish are prime tnaredlatta of derate fish, tradition ally served durin| Passover. IP THE public has suddenly become apprehensive about eating those fiA, there is evcry reason for the concern. Given the recaitly publicised facts about contamination of the Hudson River by the in dustrial chemical and suspect ed cariDogen polychlorinated biphenyls (PJ3U), the argu ments among scientists about what safe levels of those chemicals are, the difficulty in tolling where AM in stores comes from, and the migrato ry habits of freshwater fish that spawn in the Hudson aid then go out to soa whore they ore caught, the only entirety safe course Is to forego such flah, ponding further undiii|t. Robert H. Boyle, a devoted Hudsoe River sporta fishermap who reported in 1970 on finding high levels of PCB s in rtripod bass from the river. Mid, "Shopping in a ft* mar^ het these days ia like picking your way through a minefield, and it's a Maine. Fish is great food -- lean, good protein and delicious." MOST of the evidence con cerning the effect* of PCB's has boon arrived at through experiments done on labora tory animals. After a aeries of relatively low-level dosages, female rhesus monkeys were found to lose some of their re productive faculties. Consider ably higher levels were need ed to cause liver cancer in rats. Mink are especiallysus ceptible. In 1971 the Campbell Soup Co. detected high levels of PCB't -- X I parts per mil lion -- In chickens purchased in Now York State; as a re sult, 140,490 chickens were de stroyed. . As for humane, more than 1,000 people la Japan suffered PCB poisoning in IMS after eating contaminated rice oil. The people suffered from fatigue, headaches, pain in the joints, anemia, acne-form ruptloos, pigmentation changes and swelling o! the eyelids. It was also found that pregnant women it the group retained PCB** in their fotty tisanes and, that, prenmably as a result, nine out of 10 ba bies bom alive had umanally grayish skin and were born iBderweigbt Environmental Science & Technology magasiae reported last month that blood tests among the rice oil patients made in 1973 and 1974 showed that PCB levels in the most affected group was generally 7.2 parts per million. In another incident, the General Electric Co. reported last November that at least 69 of its employees in two plants in upstate Now York had be come ill over a 19-yaar period nader condition that might have been aggravated by PCB exposure. UNTIL August 1979, little was done about the Hudson's PCB contamination, which resulted mainly from dis charges from the two General Electric plants -- at Fort Ed ward ana Hudson Falls. At that time, the State Commis sioner of Environmental Con servation, Ogden R. Reid, or dered tests that showed an alarmingly high concentration of PCB s, far above the per missible Food and Drug Ad ministration limits of 5 ppm. As a result of Reid's find ings, Robert P. Whaler, the State Commissioner of Health, issued orders last month for bidding all fishing betweea Fort Edward and the Troy Dam. He alao prohibited the consumption of all eel from the river and advised that pub lic intake of river firii be lim ited to one portion per week and suggested that infants and pregnant women not eat any fish from the river. Shad was an exception to the order, pending adequate testing of the new spring run. Qpyle, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who has written widely about the Hud son, said that he had submit ted fish samples to a labora tory for analysis. "The lab found a concentra tion of 11 parts per million in striped bass eggs and 4 ppm in the flesh." Boyle said. "I'm not about-to eat striped bass or aay other fish from tbe Hud son River, tbe Finger Lakes or Lake George. I do eat large mouth bass aod sunfish and other such fish that 1 eatch myself away from any humm drainage systems." ' MONS 037097