Document JJ04yogoRDaoy3vaKxZdbpVBZ

JQURftAfcHEYfS- vmwMsmmmum MAY 11 1972 Here' s truly sad fish By MEL ELLIS Some 20 years ago I watched a Canadian resort owner ferti lize his island garden with Ion* of jacks (northern pike>. some of trophy size, and because I knew the frost usually got his corn, tomatoes and squash long before he had a chance to harvest them. 1 thought: What a waste'." Then, of course. I would nev er have guessed that the same thing might happen on a much grander scale right here in the United States. But yesterday I NOW EVERY effort is being J A The Good Earth Crusade made to put no more PCB-^ into our ecosystem. The trou- * ble is. it is already there and 1 will nut quickly go away since it deteriorates so slowlv in come true, right here in the backyards of millions was bet ter fishing than might be found in most other parts of the world. Hundreds of thou sands of aneiers from every where flocked in to harvest the bonanza. But now. back to the villain PCB. Quite suddenly too. it began turning up in sub water. According to W. B. Papageorge. of Monsanto Chemical Co.. "The mistakes of the last 40 years will be with us a long time That could mean dec ades." So what about the millions of fishermen who across the country are taking fish having a measurable amount of PCB" read about how the state of Michigan disposed of a million pounds of fish *- mostly trout and salijjpn. each longer than stances around the world. Then PCB was found to lead to cancer in rats. It was also found to inhibit the reproduc WELL. SO FAR as the fish in Lakes Superior and Michi gan are concerned, a market ing ban has been observed bv il incHls -- by burying them. tion powers of fish. the slate of Michigan and W is The resort owner who ferti consin. The distribution of sur lized his garden on the shores IN 1970. Monsanto began plus fish from which these of Ontario's Long Legged phasing out orders where it states have milked milt and i sometimes called Stork i lake, had no control of PCB's usaee. roe for their hatcheries is pro did so because at that time It offered to buy back PCB's hibited. and so millions ot fish northern pike in most Canadi for destruction for recycling. are buried an waters were considered trash fish, and were destroyed as we destroy carp, to make way for more desirable spec ies such as pickerel i walleyesi. gray trout (lake trout), and maskinonge (muskellungei. Still, every time a boatload of jacks came in to be piled into a wheel bar row and wheeled to the gar den. I winced, but took pic tures. TODAY THE JACK has ac quired some status in Canada, / j/ iu*' ' i DSW 552382 It instigated safety measures to eliminate spillage. But. along with mercury which is another poison which gathers in the tissues of fish and animals. PCB was already infecting the finny inhabitants of this Great Lakes sudden fishing fairyland. The government, o? course, stepped in. The Pood and Drug Administration put the safety margin in foods at five parts per million. It also rated PCB as only moderately toxic as compared to such other poi sons as DDT. As for the sport fisherman, the rulp has generally been that fish which measure less than 21 inches (best eat.na sizei 3re considered safe. Ii :s the concensus of biologists from repeated tests, that they have not been around lens enough to ingest such quant: ties oi PCB as are injurious !. humans. But what about those lunke: fish" Those world recorn breaking monsters whicn an glers are derricking in? "Have it mounts! Hang : on the wall to look at." and in many waters is eagerly ished for. Meanwhile, his more elite cousins, the lake, Northern pike declined for fertilizer arown. speckled and rainbow trouts, and the coho and humpback salmon, have fallen victim to PCB polychlorinated biphenyls). It s a tragic story. Long be fore fisheries biologists con verted. especially lakes Michi gan and Superior, into super fishing holes as productive of trophy fish as any waters any where in the world. PCB was already a world wide villain, even if its viciousness wasn't generally recognized. PCB had a quiet beginning. 6S38 and went on to make se vyral PCBs. and early studies jMw no harm in it. PCB spills : were hosed down drains. PCB drained from damaged trans formers was often mixed with fm-1 oil as a vehicle for weed killing sprays. There were-many other uses, even such as coating the inside of silos, until someone .di.-covered that the PCB was retting into the milk through the silage the cows ate. Back in 1929. a chemical com Other companies were al pany was asked to develop an lowed to take over PCB and it insulating material for elec- gut into specialty printing 1 r i c a 1 transformers which .inks, adhesives, coating for wouldn't crack or bum. .carbonless reproduction pa- -pcr. hydraulic fluids, special IT DID. Monsanto Chemical ipainls. some solvents, etc.. ^Q^took over the company in __etc. ______ MEANWHILE, fisheries bi ologists. especially in Michi gan. began to experiment with salmon and trout plantings in Lake Michigan. Expecting only moderate success, thev were astonished when lake, rainbow, brown and speckled trout, and coho and even humpback salmon not only survived but flourished. To understand and appreci ate this miracle, you must be a fisherman. The trout and salmon are to the world ot the fisherman what caviar is to the gourmet. Anglers had been spending great sums of monc-v to travei to distant places so thev might tush for 'hese species. Then, all of a sudden. a dream STLCOPCB4090799