Document KJa7V8EKeL0MyykpEODvBOoG6

GREEN BAY PRESS GAZETTE GREEN BAY, WIS. () 45.000 (S> 55.000 JmULi ~2 0 1975 rlcbiamcoonosr1i PdB Danger Lurking In Wisconsin Waters MADI80N (AP) - Chemi cal pollution which may be maklof aome Wisconsin fish onsale to eat continue* to con cern state Department of Ag riculture officials. High levels-Of PCPa, y no. tychtertnatad biphenyls, atox Ic Industrial chemical, are ahowlni up la fish tram eartala waters, health officials TT-<deaths hew yet oc curred la Wisconsin from eat ing fish containing PCBs or any other todc substance, said Jerry Murdahl, a diemist tor the State Department of Agriculture, which moni tors food* produced and sold In the state. But danger exists, warned Dr. James Allen, a University of Wleoceisin pathologist Dally donee of PCBs over a month f 2.S parts per million -- half the level considered safe tor human*--have been fatal to monkeys, Alton said. Studies Indicate up to SO per oent of ell Americans already hove detectable levels of PCBs la their bodies, he said. Because PCBs accumulate In fatty tissue, "There la a distinct possibility that even ' at extremely low levels, PCBs may eventually reach a toxic level in man," Alin warned. Allen said the PCB affects obeervod In monkeys are sim ilar to symptoms reported In INI for 1,000 Japanese who celdentaUy ate PCB-talnted riee oil. ne mm, ulcers, Jaundice, bloatod loose, swollen joints and loss of body hair. Because the PCBs wove retained In their fat, the symptoms for meny trout and salmon. lingered for several yean. Ba "There's no doubt these re bies born to effected women strictions will have a great were discolored and smaller Impact on the Industry, espe than normal. cially along the Mississippi, PCBs, which have been and the state's ecooomy," widely used tor almost 90 isid Donald Konsoer of the . years In numerous Industrie! state Agriculture Department. products such as Insulating But he declined to speculate and hydraulic fluids, paints, how many millions of dollars Inks and adhesives, have fishermen may loee. shown up In other foods bo rides fish, said Donald Heel* ton, regional director of the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis tration. Four years ago the FDA discovered PCBs In food pack Meanwhile, the DNR has updated Its 1971 warning to anglers not to eat more than one fish per week from the Groat Lakes and certain In land streams, including the Wisconsin and Fox Riven. aged In paperboard made The source and extent of from recycled carbonless copy the PCB pollution Is not Spor. More recently, milk known, although paper recy im Michigan and Ohio was cling mills and waste treat contaminated when dairy ment plants are prime sus herds are feed stored In rilos pects. Some scientists specu costed with paint contalng late PCBS are vaporised and PCBs, he said. tndneratedlnto the air and en Fish art the most frequent ter riven and lakes as fanout carriers of the contaminating and runoff. Once there, PCBS chemicals, Healton said. The tend to resist biological degra FDA earlier this summer de dation. . stroyed 10 tons of carp valued The Natural Resources a 93 million from Lake Pepin Board has yet to act on the and banned commercial fibb PCB problem, although the ing along parts of the Missis DNR has stepped up Its moni sippi River because of high toring and surveillance ef PCB levels In fish. . forts. In the meantime, Michi Last March the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture blocked the sale of PCB-con* laminated carp from a Greeu Bay fishery. In June, the De partment of Natural Re sources Imposed restrictions on commercial catches from Lake Michigan after PCB con centrations of op to ten time the level considered safe for humane were found In laky gan and Minnesota, which are having similar problems with the chemical, have called for a federal ban on isles of PCBS except for essential us es. Greater controls have all but eliminated problems with other toxic chemicals which had contaminated Wisconsin's fish In the past, and the same could be done with PCBS, State Health Officer Dr. George Handy arid. DOT, for Instance, has beau wwhpitcahceddo nowt itIhssvtpVemstttedtdueTs be said. downgraded as a health has/ ard after Industries were or dered to cutback dumping of the chemical In iut riven *nd Bun, though flah Iran tb, WlMonsln River .till con tain level! atm the nfi mnjdmum for human,, Hand, laid. Hand, Iran tha KBS may be the lint of many luduetrla! chemical killer, lurking In tha environment, welting to be dlacnvend. "There an numerous other chemical .genu out there which we haven't even begun to hear about yet," Handy eeld. 'T wander what will how op nea." .. HONS 03i0ii