PCB's & fish tumors in Fox R./Green Bay

[ttweed@wildrockies.org (Tony Tweedale)]

     USFW reports fish injuries in Fox River and Green Bay, Wis.

     FORT SNELLING, Minn., April 30, 1999 (PRNewswire) - The U.S. Fish and
     Wildlife Service has released a report showing high tumor rates and PCB
     (polychlorinated biphenyl) levels in walleye caught from Green Bay, Wis.
     The report is part of the Service's Fox River and Green Bay Natural
     Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) and is available for public review
     and comment either by appointment or via the internet.

     Those interested in reviewing the report and related documents can call
     Joe Moniot, 920-465-7408, and view documents at the Service Reading
     Room, 1015 Challenger Court, Green Bay. To obtain the report from the
     internet, see the Service website:
     http://www.fws.gov/r3pao/nrda/walleye.pdf

     As part of the Service Natural Resource Damage Assessment of the Fox
     River and Green Bay, walleye were collected from Green Bay and tested
     for PCB levels and to determine what health impacts occurred from PCBs.
     Green Bay walleye had hundreds of times more PCBs than walleye caught
     from cleaner sites outside the Lower Fox River and Green Bay system.

     According to David Allen, NRDA Specialist with the Service's Green Bay
     office, "Walleye caught in the eastern part of the Bay, near Door County,
     were 40 percent more contaminated than those from the western Bay.
     This indicates that the Fox River remains a source of PCBs for Green Bay
     fish. Green Bay currents are generally counterclockwise and Fox River
     PCBs tend to move along the eastern side of the Bay."

     Allen also noted that the report shows that most Green Bay walleye had
     tumors that are often the result of PCBs. Walleye from cleaner sites,
     however, had none.

     "The fact that Fox River PCBs continue to expose Green Bay walleye to
     risks and that those walleye tested have shown signs of PCB-related
     tumors, are important to the Service's damage assessment and the
     cleanup planned by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and
     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We will release a complete fish
     injury determination for the Lower Fox River, Green Bay and parts of Lake
     Michigan later this year," Allen said.

     The Service is also preparing to release a bird injury report in May
     showing impacts of PCB's on birds on the Fox River and Green Bay.

     "The results of all of these reports are important to understanding why
     the government and tribes are working toward cleaning and restoring the
     Fox River and Green Bay," Allen said. "We make it available to the public
     to help them understand problems caused by local PCBs spread over
     thousands of square miles for decades, and to encourage their help in
     solving this problem in the best way possible."

     The Service has added, and will continue to add, documents and reports to
     it's Regional website to help the public access current information on the
     Fox River and Green Bay NRDA. In addition to the walleye report and the
     upcoming bird injury report, the public can now obtain the following
     documents: the Preassessment Screen and Determination (May 1994), the
     Assessment Plan (August 1996), the Assessment Plan Addendum #1
     (October 1997), the Initial Restoration and Compensation Determination
     Plan (September 1998) and the Fish Consumption Advisory Report
     (December 1998).

     The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency
responsible for conserving,
     protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the
continuing benefit of the
     American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National
Wildlife Refuge System
     comprised of more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of
small wetlands, and other
     special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries
and 78 ecological
     services field stations.

     The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered
Species Act, manages
     migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries,
conserves and restores
     wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with
their conservation
     efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes
hundreds of millions of
     dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state
wildlife agencies. For further
     information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service in the Great
     Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our HomePage at:
http://www.fws.gov/r3pao/

     See Related Articles:
     March 11 - Glatfelter expects PCB cleanup to end up in court
     March 4 - PCB cleanup of Wisconsin's Fox River proceeds



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