Fish samples are being collected on the Monongahela River this week. Other rivers targeted for sampling include the Kanawha, New, Cranberry and Shenandoah. Fish consumption advisories are then issued warning the public about the risks associated with eating contaminated fish. We knew nationally that folks were going to a risk-based advisory. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists mercury as a pollutant of concern due to its persistence in the environment, its potential to accumulate in the body over long periods of time, and its toxicity to humans.
Studies show mercury attacks the central nervous system and can lead to birth defects.
Emissions from coal-burning boilers and power plants are considered the leading cause of methyl mercury depositition in rivers and streams, Campbell said. The sampling also is giving officials a better look at water quality in the Monongahela River. Fisheries biologists are finding the river is rebounding from earlier pollution. Back in the 1960s and early '70s, it was predominantly bullhead catfish because it was an acid river at that time, and it was one of the few species which could tolerate the low pH levels,'' said Frank Jernejcic, a fisheries biologist with the state Division of Natural Resources. No bullhead catfish were found Tuesday during the first of three fish counts at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Morgantown Lock and Dam on the Monongahela River.