-
Carbondale City
Reservoir, Jackson County
-
Greenville Old City
Lake (Patriot’s Park Lake), Bond County
-
Henderson Creek
(below the junction with Cedar Creek), Warren County
-
Lake of the Woods,
Champaign County
-
Pyramid State Park,
Perry County
-
Siloam Springs
Lake, Adams County
-
Vermilion River, Champaign and
Vermilion counties
Additionally, several less-restrictive advisories have been
issued this year.
The Illinois Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program screens fish
samples from approximately 40 bodies of water each year for
contamination from 14 banned pesticides, industrial chemicals and
methylmercury. The program is a joint effort of the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Agriculture,
Natural Resources and Public Health.
The fish are collected by the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources and tested by IEPA. IDPH issues an annual consumption
advisory based on the IEPA test results. The advisory is also
available on the IDPH website at:
www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/
fishadvisory/index.htm.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2012/Feb/22/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411%20copy.png)
"The advisories are not meant to discourage people from eating
fish, but should be used as a guideline to help people decide the
types of fish to eat, how often and how to prepare the fish to
reduce possible contaminants," said Dr. Arthur F. Kohrman, acting
director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. "Fish are a
good source of high-quality protein and other nutrients and are low
in fat. However, contaminants may make some fish unsafe to eat
except in limited quantities, particularly for women of childbearing
age and young children."
While there is no known immediate health hazard from eating
contaminated fish from any body of water in Illinois, there are
concerns about the effects of long-term, low-level exposure to
pesticides and chemicals such as chlordane, methylmercury and
polychlorinated biphenyls, known as PCBs. Methylmercury has been
found to cause reproductive damage and to have adverse effects on
the central nervous system, including developmental delays.
The advisories are based primarily on protecting sensitive
populations, including women of childbearing age, pregnant women,
fetuses, nursing mothers and children younger than 15 years of age.
Changes and new 2012 advisories
-
Carbondale City
Reservoir, Jackson County -- methylmercury
-
Casey Fork Creek,
Jefferson County -- polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs
-
Cedar Creek, Warren
County -- polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs
-
Evergreen Lake,
McLean County -- methylmercury
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2012/Feb/22/images/ads/current/modern%20brake%20bch100510.png)
-
Greenville Old City
Lake (Patriot’s Park Lake), Bond County -- methylmercury
-
Henderson Creek
(below Cedar Creek), Warren County -- polychlorinated biphenyls,
or PCBs
-
Kickapoo Creek,
Peoria County -- polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs
-
Kishwaukee River,
Boone, McHenry and Winnebago counties -- methylmercury
-
Lake Bracken, Knox
County -- polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and methylmercury
-
Common carp smaller
than 23 inches -- one meal per week
-
Common carp larger
than 23 inches -- one meal per month
-
Largemouth bass
smaller than 17 inches -- one meal per week
-
Largemouth bass
larger than 17 inches -- one meal per month
-
Lake Michigan, Cook
and Lake counties -- polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs
-
Lake trout less
than 25 inches -- one meal per month
-
Lake trout 25-29
inches -- six meals per year
-
Lake trout larger
than 29 inches should not be eaten
-
Lake of the Woods,
Champaign County -- polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and
methylmercury
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/ads/current/maple_ridge_lda111210.png)
-
Pyramid State Park,
Perry County -- methylmercury
-
Siloam Springs Lake
State Park, Tazewell County -- methylmercury
-
Skillet Fork Creek,
Jefferson, Marion and Wayne counties -- methylmercury
-
Vermilion
River¸Vermilion and Champaign counties -- polychlorinated
biphenyls, or PCBs
The statewide mercury advisory cautions sensitive populations to
eat no more than one meal per week of predator fish, which pose a
greater risk because they feed on other fish and accumulate higher
amounts of methylmercury. Predator fish include all species of black
bass (largemouth, smallmouth and spotted), striped bass, white bass,
hybrid striped bass, flathead catfish, muskellunge, northern pike,
saugeye, sauger and walleye.
Women beyond childbearing age and males older than 15 years of
age may eat unlimited quantities of predator fish, with the
exception of the fish caught from the 33 bodies of water that are on
the special mercury advisory. These are:
-
Arrowhead Lake
-
Big Muddy River and
tributaries
-
Campus Lake
-
Carbondale City
Reservoir
-
Cedar Lake
-
Devil’s Kitchen Lake
-
DuPage River
(headwaters to Route 6)
-
Evergreen Lake
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2012/Feb/22/images/ads/current/daily_1.jpg)
-
Greenville Old City
Lake (Patriot’s Park Lake)
-
Heidecke Lake
-
Kinkaid Lake
-
Kishwaukee River
-
Lake Bracken
-
Little Grassy Lake
-
Lake in the Hills
-
Lake Jacksonville
-
Lake of the Woods
-
Lake Renwick East
-
Lake Sara
-
Little Wabash River
and tributaries
-
Mount Olive New City
Lake
-
Marquette Park Lagoon
-
Midlothian Reservoir
-
Monee Reservoir
-
Nippersink Creek
-
Ohio River
-
Pana Lake
-
Pyramid State Park
-
Rock River (Rockford
to Milan Steel Dam)
-
Sam Parr Lake
-
Siloam Springs Lake
-
Skillet Fork Creek
-
Wabash River
For fish that may contain PCBs and chlordane, the advisory
provides consumption advice in five categories -- unlimited
consumption, no more than one meal per week, no more than one meal
per month, no more than six meals per year and do not eat.
Anglers who vary the type and source of sport fish consumed --
opting for younger, smaller fish and consuming leaner species such
as walleye and panfish over fatty species such as the common carp
and catfish, and who prepare and cook fish in ways that reduce the
amount of contaminants -- can limit their exposure to harmful
substances that may be found in fish.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2012/Mar/01/images/ads/current/Breakfast-_buffet_lda030112.png)
Several ways to reduce any PCBs and chlordane present in edible
portions of fish include:
-
Remove the skin
from the fillet and cut away any fatty tissue from the belly and
dorsal areas before cooking.
-
Broil, bake or
grill in a way that allows fat to drip away.
-
Discard fat drippings or broth from
broiled or poached fish. Do not use in other dishes.
These precautions will not reduce the amount of methylmercury in
fish. Mercury is found throughout a fish’s muscle tissue -- the
edible part of the fish -- rather than in the fat and skin.
Therefore, the only way to reduce mercury intake is to reduce the
amount of contaminated fish eaten.
[Text from
Illinois
Department of Natural Resources file received from the
Illinois Office of Communication and Information] |