Eat Fish, Be Smart, Choose Wisely

Human Health Assessment

of Puget Sound Fish

Washington State Department of Health

Joan Hardy

Toxicologist

Office of Environmental Health, Safety

and Toxicology

2009 National Forum

on

Contaminants in Fish

Portland, Oregon

November 2, 2009

Department of Health (DOH)

Background

• Office of Environmental Health, Safety and

TOXicology (OEHST)

• What does OEHST do?

• Technical assistance to Local Health

Jurisdictions

• Food safety

• Zoonotic diseases

• Human health assessments

Puget Sound

• History of chemical contamination

• Urban embayments

Puget Sound Puget Sound Assessment and

Monitoring Program (PSAMP)

• Began in 1988

• Purpose

• Monitor long-term contaminant trends

• Biological Resources

• Physical Environment and Habitat

• Nutrients andPathogens

• ToxicContaminants
fi~ ii"lt); ENGLISH SOLE

..'" STATIONS

PSAMP - Fish

• Rockfish

• Brown rockfish

• Copper rockfish

• Quillback rockfish

• Yelloweye rockfish

• English sale

• Salmon

• Chinook salmon

• Coho salmon

Contaminant Screening

Step 1

Determine contaminant concentrations

in Puget Sound fish

Contaminants of Concern

Human Health

• Mercury

• PCBs

- Arsenic

- Benzyl Alcohol

- Bis(2ethylhexyl)phthalate

- Chlordane

- Copper

- DDD DDE DDT
Hg and PCBs in PS fish Hg (ppm) I~~~~ ~~~oc; AGE- Hg .~-

0.287 55.3 Length is not a good predictor of age Rockfish

Anglersrarely target a singlespecies Urban 0.368 134 Speciesmay be difficult to identify

Near-urban 0.225 45.1 _.- -----_.- --~. -- LOCATION - PCBs Non-urban 0.218 S.8

EnglishSole 0.060 38.6 LOCATION- PCBs Urban 0.072 73.6 - Urban

Ne"-u;ban 0.053 17.2 - Near-Urban

- Non-Urban Non-urban 0.051 9.3 Chinook - HiM!lr ~l>I!taminantvalues -----".- Chinook 0.093 54.0 Higher trophic level ~-""-

In-river 0.096 50.2 Diet/life history/age -_._- Fat content Manne 0,082 73.2

---. Coho 0.039 31.8 coho- Lowercontaminant levels --~-~"-

31.1 Trophic level /n'fiver 0.038 ._~---- Fat content Marine 0.051 34.4 Age/life history

Step 2

Estimate the amount of Puget Sound

fish eaten by public

Step 3

Estimate exposure doses to

contaminants from eating various

Puget Sound fish

PCB levels in Puget Sound Chinook vs Washington coast,

Alaska, Oregon, and British Columbia (solid bars)

Consumption Surveys

• Tribes

• Suquamish

• Tulalip

• Squaxin Island

• Recreational

• Asian & Pacific Islanders

Step 4

Determine if exposure dose exceeds

reference dose (l.e. "safe" dose) or

results in unacceptable cancer risk
Rockfish Meal Limit

Calculations

How Do We Develop a Fish

Advisory?

• Calculate meal limits

• 8-oz meals per month or week

• Based on PCBs, Hg, and additive

endpoints

• Consider benefits of eating fish

• Create a clear message

~----~---_. --._- -

A\'er~~e A""ra~e rcB Cnlrulnled CHI,'"lnl.,1 CMlwl"le,l

Location Merrue,. ron«nlr"lloll I ","""':~:',:,, ",""I'PH meal. l,n

ron.rnl,."llon (pl'b) Il,,,,,thh,,•• d 1II0"lhb",,<1

(1'1'1lI) OllmertUr, onl'Clh otl",hlilin

endpolnl

Non-urban 0.218 5Jl 3.7 28 3.4

locutions ~._--

-"_.".,-~--,. _.~._--_.

----~ f--.---- t--,.,-- Nenr-urhan 0,225 45.J 3,6 :Hl

locutions --

PugetSound

Rockfish

RoeJ<J\ffi ((IIK1Mlptkm itdv1o.>11 butd QlI

(Of1t~mlnllll le...~llln blown, qummnj(,~ftd

(op!Wrro<~rntlflo/llPllfJ&tSQ(md. ~Iadditlon

to «lrn.arnln~!Il concems, non·ulbalharveno! ~loweyeaod(anaryro(k1Hhl1prohlb1ttdror

CQnleIYatloopurpOllJi

English Sale

& Other Flatfish

TM fj)jktwin9&\h1ro aoones to omwrnpUonof PIIQet Soundflaln>hl!ldlHllnq[l1qllltl$O!e,ltOJlryflollndet,

~1\d tu<kwlt, Ho retlt1c\lol\\ ml!Jm ~I ,.m~at 1 t03

mlMhperwjfflk,
Estimated PCB Levels

• No data for Bellingham Bay, Budd Inlet,

Everett Harbor, and Port Angeles.

[mPCB] =e1.64*[sPCB]O.35*I<U3*Age

Where:

• mPCB ;:;:: concentration of PCBs in muscle as sum of 3

Aroclors, ng/g, wet wt.,

• sPCB :::: concentration of PCBs in sediments as sum of 3

Aroclors, ng/g, dry wr.,

• Age == fish age in years,

Estimated PCB Levels in E. sole based on

Matched PCBSediment Concentrations

S,dIUll'UI)'Cll I'.. dlel,d K.mi.

.""... nlnllnn(l'ph. ""nct'lllrdlnll(l'l'b, ...rt M•• hller

L"rall"n S"dlmmtN ,ll')'w!.) ...1.) ""'!llh

BellinghamBIIY 45 14' 29,') 5 _._-----

Budd Inlet 13' , 2<),] 5 ~~~-~_...,_.

Everett Harbor 33 355 91.0 2 -,-~-~--

Pol'! Angeles 22 127 28.1 (,

PugetSound

Salmon

Chinook Salmon Recommendations

• Puget Sound Chinook salmon may be

consumed once (eight ounces) per week.

• Anglers who catch resident Chinook salmon

(blackmouth). in the Puqet Sound winter

fishery should limit their

consumption to two eightounce meals per month.

Consumption Advice for All Fish

• General advice

• Choose fish with lower contaminant

levels

• Grill, bake or broil! remove skin

• Choose a variety of species

Make Better

Choices
Risk Communication

• Media

• Signs

• Internet

• Printed

materials

• Health care providers

• Tribes and local health jurisdictions

• Community groups

Outreach to anglers
Data Gaps

• Obtain contaminant data in crab,

shrimp, and bivalves

• Confirm levels in chum, pink and

sockeye

• Obtain dloxln/furan data in PS species

• Assess PBDE levels in fish species

• Conduct a "market basket" survey of

PCBs

Eat Fish

• American Heart Association - 2

meals/wk

• Eat a variety of fish, especially oily fish

• Benefits

• Reduces cardiovascular disease risk

• Beneficial effects on fetal development

Puget Sound Partnership

• A community effort of citizens,

governments, tribes, scientists and

businesses working together to restore

and protect the Sound

• Goal is to make p.s. healthy again.

• Roadmap to get it done is the "Action

Agenda"

Resources

• State of Washington

• http://www.doh.wa.gov/fish

• http://www.doh.wa.gov/fiillLoehas/fish/ps.htm