Thirteen states have issued statewide advisories for all lakes or streams under their jurisdiction. Most of the coastal states in the northeast have issued advisories for some marine species, too. This may be due to increases in the amount of monitoring, because of increasing concern about the extent of contamination. The greatest number of advisories is issued for the Great Lakes states. State programs for advisories vary in quality.
Some states have extensive monitoring while others do very little or nothing.
The approach to risk assessments also varies greatly. While the EPA has provided significant leadership in its technical assistance to state programs, it has not developed standards for state programs, nor does it conduct any systematic evaluation of state programs. States also vary in how well they disseminate their warnings. Many people remain unaware of warnings in their state. And even when people are aware of the warnings, they may have limited efficacy because of the complex nature of the information the advisories provide.