KDHE Warns Against Eating Fish From Arkansas River In Wichita - PCB, Mercury Concerns

[hatrack]

Be careful eating local fish caught in certain parts of the Arkansas River and other waterways around Wichita. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Department of Wildlife issued what has become an annual warning about potentially toxic fish in rivers around the state.

The culprits appear to be polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and mercury in fish, and lead and cadmium in shellfish showing up in annual tests.

PCBs showed up in Arkansas River fish from Hutchinson to Wichita and in the Kansas River near Lawrence. PCBs were produced from the 1920s to the 1970s and used in paints, waterproofing and cements. They also were used in florescent lights and other discarded materials. Improper trash disposal by past generations could account for the toxic levels of PCBs in fish today.

"They came from a lot of different products, so it's hard to pinpoint a source, but they could be from old landfills," said Maggie Thompson of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

EDIT

http://www.kansas.com/news/story/1122920.html

[DURHAM D]

1. I have known since 1950 not to eat the fish from the Ar - Kansas river.

The only thing we ever caught were mud cats anyway.