- cross-posted to:
- environment@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- environment@beehaw.org
Staggering amounts of toxic “forever chemicals” have been found in freshwater fish, but there is no federal guidance on what is a safe amount to eat
Bill Eisenman has always fished.
“Growing up, we ate whatever we caught — catfish, carp, freshwater drum,” he said. “That was the only real source of fish in our diet as a family, and we ate a lot of it.”
Today, a branch of the Rouge River runs through Eisenman’s property in a suburb north of Detroit. But in recent years, he has been wary about a group of chemicals known as PFAS, also referred to as “forever chemicals,” which don’t break down quickly in the environment and accumulate in soil, water, fish, and our bodies.
The chemicals have spewed from manufacturing plants and landfills into local ecosystems, polluting surface water and groundwater, and the wildlife living there. And hundreds of military bases have been pinpointed as sources of PFAS chemicals leaching into nearby communities.
If you are going to eat wild fish, eat smaller ones. They have had less time to bioaccumulate toxins like PFAs, mercury and other heavy metals.
Yup. 1-2 lb walleyes make for great eating!
Also, stay away from tuna and salmon (canned or otherwise) cause they’re higher on the food chain and accumulate a ton of chemicals. Leave the nigiri and sashimi alone.
Not just PFAS, either. Anti-depressants and heart medications, too. The health insurance agencies HATE this one weird trick to avoid expensive prescriptions! (People flush their pills, and it bioacumulates in big fish).
Even without flushing the pills, enough of the population is medicated that the excess/byproducts that come out in our urine are accumulating in the environment.