State Officials to Host Public Meeting on
Horsetooth Reservoir Fish Consumption Advisory
DENVER - Members of the public are invited to join
officials from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
and the Colorado Division of Wildlife will for a public meeting March
28, 6:30 p.m., to discuss recommendations to limit the consumption of
certain fish caught at Horsetooth Reservoir. The meeting will be held
at Ft. Collins City Hall, 300 Laporte Avenue.
The Fish Consumption Advisory at Horsetooth Reservoir
(attached) was announced by the Department of Public Health and
Environment in January due to elevated mercury levels detected in fish
tissue samples collected at the reservoir. Among state officials that
will be available at the meeting will be specialists in biology,
epidemiology, surface water and drinking water, fisheries and air
quality.
The fish tissue testing is part of an ongoing, five-year
sampling plan of about 120 water bodies in the state. Colorado water
bodies having fish consumption advisories can be found at
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/wq/FishCon/FishCon.html. The presence
of elevated mercury levels in fish has been a national concern for some
time. The fish consumption advisories are a caution to the public and
not mandatory.
According to state officials, routine sampling and
analysis by the department and the Division of Wildlife have shown some
white bass, wiper and walleye from Horsetooth Reservoir exceed the
mercury action level of 0.5 parts per million set by the health
department.
Fish tissue samples have been collected from reservoirs
in the area to test for mercury. Results are pending and, if findings
show other lakes warrant a fish consumption advisories, the advisories
will be posted. The other lakes sampled are: Carter, Boyd, Lone Tree,
Horseshoe and Chambers.
Mercury poisoning can affect humans of all ages.
However, pregnant women and children under age 6 are especially
susceptible, because mercury can harm developing nervous systems in
fetuses and young children. Adults exposed to high mercury levels also
can suffer from central nervous system and cardiovascular problems.
The fish consumption advisories include consumption
recommendations in three categories: for the general population;
children age 6 and younger; and women who are pregnant, nursing or who
may become pregnant.
The fish consumption advisory posted for Horsetooth
Reservoir recommends that children age 6 or younger do not consume any
white bass or wiper (larger than 18 inches in length), nor any walleye
larger than 12 inches in length. The same is recommended for pregnant
women, nursing women and women who plan on being pregnant, with the
exception being a recommendation to limit consumption of walleye that
are less than 12 inches in length to just one meal per month. For the
general population the recommendation is a limit of one meal per month
of white bass and wiper that are larger than 18 inches in length, and
one or two meals per month of walleye, depending whether the fish length
is more or less than 12 inches.
---30---
State of Colorado,
Department
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