State issues guidelines for eating Lake St. Clair fish

Gene Phillips was snug in a pop-up deer blind Wednesday behind the Port Huron Wastewater Treatment Plant, waiting for fish to bite.

He said he eats the fish he catches — but those fish come from upstream of Sarnia's Chemical Valley.

"This way, it's OK," the Port Huron man said. "The other way, I wouldn't eat them. There's more chemicals down there than there are up here."

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday issued guidelines for eating fish from Lake St. Clair and the Flint River due to elevated levels of perfluorooctane sulfonates, polychlorinated biphenyls and mercury.

Guidelines for Lake St. Clair previously had included mercury, PCBs and dioxins.

The Eat Safe Fish guidelines for the lake, including the chemical causing the serving guideline and the size of the fish, suggest eating no more than:

Bluegills, PFOS, any size, 4 servings per month.
Carp, PCBs, any size, limited — only once or twice a year.
Catfish, dioxins, any size, limited — once or twice a year.
Black crappie, mercury, under 9 inches, 8 servings per month; over 8 inches, 4 servings per month.
Freshwater drum (sheepshead), PCBs and mercury, any size, 2 servings per month
Largemouth and smallmouth bass, PCBs and mercury, under 20 inches, 2 servings per months; over 20 inches, 1 serving per month.
Muskellunge, mercury, any size, do not eat.
Northern pike, mercury, any size, 2 servings per month.
Rock bass, PCBs, any size, 1 serving per month; 2 servings if fat is cut away and fish is cooked so more fat drips away.
Sturgeon, PCBs, any size, limited — once or twice a year.
Sunfish, PFOS, any size, 4 servings per month.
Walleye, PCBs and dioxins, any, 6 per year; 12 servings per year if fat is cut away and fish is cooked so more fat drips away.
White (silver) bass, PCBs, any, limited — once or twice a year.
White crappie, mercury, under 9 inches, 8 servings per month; over 9 inches, 4 servings per month.
Yellow perch, mercury, any, 4 servings per month.

A special notice is in effect for Lake St. Clair within two miles of the Lange-Revere Canals between Lakefront Park and Veterans Memorials Park in St. Clair Shores and out into open water:

Bluegills, PCBs, any size, 6 per year; 12 if fat is cut away and fish is cooked so more fat drips away.
Carp, PCBs, any size, limited — only once or twice a year.
Largemouth bass, PCBs, under 20 inches, 1 serving per month; 2 per month if fat is cut away and fish is cooked so more fat drips away; over 20 inches, PCBs and mercury, 1 serving per month.
Muskellunge, mercury, any size, do not eat.
Smallmouth bass, PCBs, under 20 inches, 1 serving per month; 2 per month if fat is cut away and fish is cooked so more fat drips away; over 20 inches, PCBs and mercury, 1 serving per month.
Sunfish, PCBs, any size, 6 per year; 12 per year if fat is cut away and fish is cooked so more fat drips away.
Walleye, PCBs and dioxins, any, 6 per year; 12 servings per year if fat is cut away and fish is cooked so more fat drips away.
Yellow perch, PCBs, any, 2 servings per month; 4 per month if fat is cut away and fish is cooked so more fat drips away.
All other species, PCBs, any, limited — once or twice a year.

Special notice for the Lange-Revere Canals in St. Clair Shores:

All species, PCBs, any, do not eat.

Three municipal drinking water intakes in Lake St. Clair, including Ira Township, were found to have low levels of PFOS, below the U.S. Environmental Protection lifetime health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion.

The "limited" category describes fish that should only be eaten once or twice a year because of higher levels of chemicals. According to the state health department, however, people who are younger than 15, have heath problems such as cancer or diabetes, are planning to have children in the next several years or are breastfeeding should avoid all fish listed as limited.

One serving is 6 to 8 ounces of fish, about the size of an adult's hand, for adults; 2 to 4 ounces, about the size of an adult's palm, for children.

According to information from the EPA, PFOS have been used in: Surface protection products such as carpet and clothing treatments; coatings for paper, cardboard packaging and leather products; industrial surfactants, emulsifiers, wetting agents, additives and coatings; processing aids in the manufacture of fluoropolymers such as nonstick coatings on cookware; membranes for clothing that are both waterproof and breathable; electrical wire casing; fire and chemical resistant tubing; and plumbing thread seal tape

Through 2001, PFOS and other PFAS chemicals were used in the manufacture of aqueous film forming foam, which is used to extinguish liquid hydrocarbon fires.

Manufacturers of the fire-fighting foam in the United States now use PFASs other than PFOS; however, existing stocks of PFOS-based foam remain in use.

In St. Clair County waters other than Lake St. Clair, carp of any size are limited because of PCBs in the Pine River and the St. Clair River.

Sturgeon and white bass are limited because of PCBs in the St. Clair River.

Smallmouth and largemouth bass from the St. Clair River under 18 inches are two servings per month; over 18 inches are 1 serving per month.

Freshwater drum from the St. Clair River are two servings per month because of PCBs and mercury; rock bass are four servings per month because of mercury.

Walleye from the river are six per year, 12 per year if fat is cut away and fish is cooked so more fat drips away. Yellow perch are eight per year.

For more information, go to the Statewide Eat Safe Fish Guidelines. The Eat Safe Fish guidelines for southeast Michigan are at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdch/MDCH_EAT_SAFE_FISH_GUIDE_-_SOUTHEAST_MI_WEB_455358_7.pdf

For current guidelines, go to michigan.gov/pfasresponse.

Contact Bob Gross at (810) 989-6263 or rgross@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobertGross477.

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