FISHERY:

WATER QUALITY:

 

Fish Consumption

In 2005, EPA collected fish tissue data. A key goal was to assess human health risks from fish consumption. Fish species sampled included walleye, rainbow trout (hatchery and wild), lake whitefish, largescale sucker and burbot. Fish were sampled from near the Canadian border to Grand Coulee Dam, but not in the Spokane Arm of Lake Roosevelt. Based on results and a statewide mercury advisory, the Washington Department of Health (WDOH) issued an updated Lake Roosevelt fish advisory in 2008.

Prepare fish the following way to reduce PCBs and other contaminants that collect in the fatty parts of the fish by up to 50 percent:

To Reduce Your Exposure When Eating Fish

• When cleaning fish remove the head, skin, fat, and internal organs before cooking. Do not use for sauce or gravy.
• Grill, bake, or broil fish so that the fat drips off while cooking.
• Mercury is stored in the muscle (fillet) of fish and cannot be reduced by cleaning this way.

Check local fish advisories: 1-877-485-7316 or www.doh.wa.gov/fish

Lake Roosevelt Fish Advisory and Statewide Mercury Advisory

Fish in Lake Roosevelt contain chemicals, including mercury that may be hazardous to your health. Women who are or might become pregnant, nursing mothers, and young children less than six years old may be especially at risk. These

individuals should limit the amount of fish they consume from Lake Roosevelt to:

• 2 meals per month: smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and walleye, or
• 4 meals per month: sucker or burbot, or
• 2 meals per month of any combination of species listed above.
• Do not eat northern pikeminnow.

Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and northern pikeminnow were not sampled from Lake Roosevelt, but are listed on the Washington Department of Health's Statewide Mercury advisory.

Beach Exposure

In 2005, EPA collected sediment samples from 15 beaches. One purpose of collecting this data was to assess human health risks for people recreating on these beaches.

When recreating, exposure to contaminants can occur by swallowing, breathing in, or getting sediments on the skin.

The Department of Health concluded in a draft 2009 Health Consultation there is "no apparent public health hazard." This is based on children or adults being exposed for two days per week for four months, or 35 days per year for area residents.

At Black Sand Beach, Northport Boat Ramp and Dalles Orchard (where lead and arsenic were marginally above screening levels) further testing will occur as part of the RI/FS to refine current conclusions.

Air Inhalation

From 2002 to 2006, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) conducted air monitoring from approximately January to June of each year. This is the time period when lower lake levels expose sediments and wind storms can suspend dust into the atmosphere. The concern is whether inhalation from windblown dust with possible contaminants creates a human health risk.

In collaboration with the Colville Confederated Tribes, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Lake Roosevelt Water Quality Council, USGS collected air samples and analyzed them for 36 trace metals. Samples were collected at Inchelium and Seven Bays from 2002 to 2006, Kettle Falls in 2002, and Marcus from 2003 to 2006.