Document b5pY04zrxxxNBEZX2pvXeOYby

TH.E NEW YORK TIMES, SEPT- 27, 1976 t- FISHING IS HALTED |, AFTER PCES FOUND High Levels of Chemical Turn lip in Catches From Some Waters in South Carolina and Georgia ATLANTA, Sept. 36 (AT) -- It the early 197C's, It was learned that certain chemical compound, -- polychlorinated biphenyl* nr PCB'i -- were dananeotia to the environment end the Federal Govern- menL ordered indusirtas to atop using them except In ckued systems. . But recently, in quick succession. Feduat and state officials in Georgia and pwia Carolina have ordered halts to femme fetal fishing in some lek*s and rivers in those state* because fish caught in them contained more PCB'* thafl was considered safe. Those restrictions, coupled with warn ings against estirrg fish from those lakes and rivers, have led officials- in other southeastern states to check for the pres ence of these compounds in fish caught in their Stales' waters. Thus far, though fish caught .in seme states, notably Alabama, have been ____to have high levels of PCB'*, only lorgis and South' ..Carolina have had "ilng restrictions ImpoMsL ' . KB Buildups Sought 'Howard Zeller, deputy director erf the Environmental Protection Agency's en forcement division at it* regional office in Atlanta, says that the agency found the Georgia and South Carolina PCS buildups through a program to find pos sible buildups of the oompourala and Iheir sources in Mississippi, AUbuaa, Georgia. Kentucky, Temieaoae. Florida. North and outh Carolina. Thus far, excessive amounts of the compounds have been confirmed in fish caught In Lako Hartwell on tfca GeorgiaSouth Carolina border and <he Coosa, givir and two tributaries running Into It. preliminary studies also have shown there may be a PCs probtemin: Weiss hake, an Alabama reservoir iwo wtdeh the Coots flows, but Alabama officials hava not-restricted fishing In that lakn- The problem with these compounds, which can cause skin eTOptitms, enes- give eye discharges, swelling of eyelids . in humans and- powtbSy cancer, l* that ' they are not blodegmdabls. capable, * being readily decomposed by biological means, and therefore stay in the envuorv- ment, official* said. . . . . Before' th# Federal Government placed ml fictions on their use In the early IfWi, PCB's were used in s number of .product*, including paint and paper, Mr. teller said. "Thar* are very, very low Jsvele of PCB Just about anywhere you look. '* he said. 1They're very residua).'' ',, After Ibe ban, the compounds were supposed to be used oaly in systems from which thef would not be discharged. - 1 Companies Are.sources m E.P.A, officials say that two companies ' now using PCB's in the manufacture of Uetttltiil components, the General Elec- trie Company in Rome,- <3., and th* Sfcngamo Electric Company, In Pickens, S.c,, are the sources of the PCB's con* tarmnating fish in the Cooia River md Uk Hirtwell. v BUt offlcUk have not charged that oluier company discharged excessive ftnounto of the Chemical In feel after singomo stopped dumping waste water a water V*tmcnt lagoon contain* insted by the chemical, the discharge rdtjQ of PCB's in the lagoon tripled In (do weeks, officials safdT . `Federal and state officials are trying ' tMdetermine what caused the increase, :4.*'What we ate seeing here Is the reiuH . *-spills of PCB's ever a number of f year*,'* eald G!b Johnston of the Georgia Department of. Natural Resources. *TWi is. not somethin* that happened at the . Cfoneral Electric- plant two weeks ago.*' ; - The problem is char when even a small r aidount of the chemical gets into the /- environment, it stays and eventually 'bgflds up, Mr.; Zeller said. PCB'a nettle in sediment on the bottoms of lakes and Jtvtn, he said. ` ' IHifoinri In Higher Animals* f <<Tlny organisms Cake it In. then they're eaten by a little bit bigger ones, b&iftr Hah eat the little fish,** Mr, Zeller said. **Yoo take a very small amount that was on the bottom and build It up , and It's magnified in the higher animals.* * Nr. Zeller said the danger from these '.compounds was in the contampUon of fish contaminated with them, and not In the Sake or river water itself. Practically no PCB*s Sieve been found In the restricted waters* he said. And, he said, the consumption of a few contaminated fish poses no real problem either. But when a person eats a lot of contaminated fish and other foods con ' taining PCB's, 4*therel> a potential for a buildup,** he said. Indeed, Alabama officials do not appear too concerned about the health threat of PCB'S, despite- the discovery of high amounts of them in pomp kinds of fish its Welts Lake. No Action ^t This Time* *"Given the current dietary habits of the people of Alabama and the hick of evi dence directly Unking PCS with adverse effects on human health, no additional action is warranted at this time/* Dr* lr& L Myers, state health officer, said of the Weiss contamination. For acme persons, however, the 111 effects of eating contaminated fish are not their most vocal concern. Fishermen, businessmen and property - owners on Lake Hartwell and the Coosa River say that they have been hwt financially by the fishing ban, and hn separate actions they have filed suits against Sangamo Electric and General Electric. -s Fourteen property owners along Lake Hartwell have filed a fcl billion class- action suit against Sangamo contending that the PCB contamination of Lake Han- well has hurt business and reduced prop erty values on the Iskeahore. Attorneys representing fishermen, busi nessmen and property owners from Georgia and Alabama on the Coosa River have filed a 1500 million suit against - General Electric and the Monsanto Com pany making similar charges. The suit contends that. Monsanto sold PCB's to General Electric. HONS