Virginia is well known for many things. The birthplace of presidents, scenic mountains and beaches, beautiful architecture, historic landmarks, snipers, and a host of other wonderful claims. We like tourists, and we like their money. It's a natural thing.
But nowhere in any of our tourist brochures does it mention our large number of contaminated fish.
The Department of Health website says:
Fishing in Virginia waters provides many benefits including food and recreational enjoyment. Many fishermen keep, cook, and eat the fish they catch.
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) routinely monitors fish from Virginia waters for contaminants and provides fish tissue sample results to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) for analysis. While most Virginia waters do not have dangerous levels of contaminants, sometimes the fish in certain waters are found to contain chemicals at levels of concern.
The meal advisories listed in the tables are based on protecting the general public from adverse health effects of contaminants. A meal is considered to be an eight-ounce (half-pound) serving of fish. High risk individuals such as women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, nursing mothers, and young children are advised not to eat any fish contaminated either with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or mercury from the respective advisory areas.
Then they have this nice little map that shows the contaminated areas. Containing almost all of the major waterways, including the Chesapeake Bay, the James River, the Roanoke River basin, and the Potomac river basin. That's a lot of contaminated fish.
The FAQ pages (pdf file) has some comforting words. It says that, essentially, there is no direct evidence that contaminated fish cause cancer in humans (like cigarettes! Whee!). They just want to be real
ly, really cautious, since eating poison is generally considered a bad thing. They do say that pregnant women, breast feeding mothers, and children shouldn't eat any of the fish at all. You know, because the unproven cancer link might make them, you know, get cancer.But don't worry. It normally takes, oh, a while before you get the third eye.
Is it okay to swim in water so polluted that you can't eat the fish, the FAQ asks? Why, sure! Recreational use of the water is fine! It's just the fish and the sediment that are polluted with cancer and birth defect causing agents! Umm...so, it's ok as long as you don't touch the bottom, drink the water accidentally (like kids get water in their mouth?), have any open cuts, or otherwise swim in anything less than a full deep sea scuba suit. Great. Start planning that vacation for the kids! What's the worst that could happen?
Am I overreacting? I don't think so. I don't think I'm expecting too much to think my fellow human beings shouldn't poison my food supply or endanger my children and grandchildren.
What do you think?
3 comments:
I think it's shameful, although nothing new to some of us old-timers. The James has been polluted for as long as I can remember, although I didn't realize how bad the Bay was.
I remember going down to Pony Pasture a few years ago, and getting in the waters of the James for the first time in..well I think it was the first time, actually. I got out and could feel a slime and smell a stench on me that has convinced me never again to do such a stupid thing.
Perhaps we need to install Brita filters in all of our waterways?
Adam
Yes, the James has been so nasty you can walk on it. Doesn't excuse it, though. What really frosts my butt is that so many of our waterways are so polluted that the fish are contaminated to a point that they shouldn't be eaten. One cow in Japan gets mad cow disease, and everyone goes nuts. You can't eat half the fish in the Chesapeake Bay, and people just shrug their shoulders.
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