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Fish Advice: Updates and Quo Vadis

Fish Advice: Updates and Quo Vadis. C-MERC Workshop 09/08/10. Rita Schoeny, Ph.D. Senior Science Advisor U.S EPA Office of Water. Disclaimer. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not represent the policy of the U.S. EPA.

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Fish Advice: Updates and Quo Vadis

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  1. Fish Advice: Updates and Quo Vadis C-MERC Workshop 09/08/10 Rita Schoeny, Ph.D. Senior Science Advisor U.S EPA Office of Water

  2. Disclaimer The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not represent the policy of the U.S. EPA. Except for that which is EPA policy 2 2

  3. Fish Advisories for Hg NLFA 2008

  4. RfD Values Used By States: Advisories for Women of Childbearing Age and Children Number of states 35 1 7 2 (Old RfD/MRL) (Current EPA RfD) Alaska Allowable daily intake (ug/g/day) Seven States with Hg Advisories But Not Using or Reporting RfD: USEPA Survey of State Advisory Programs 07?

  5. US Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act • Sec. 301. [331] The following acts and the causing thereof are hereby prohibited: • (a) The introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of any food, drug, device, or cosmetic that is adulterated or misbranded. • (b) The adulteration or misbranding of any food , drug, device, or cosmetic in interstate commerce. • (c) The receipt in interstate commerce of any food , drug, device, or cosmetic that is adulterated or misbranded, and the delivery or proffered delivery thereof for pay or otherwise. • FDA has issued three fish advisories • 1994 advisory for the entire population; • 2001 advisory (concurrent with EPA advice) for pregnant and nursing women; • 2004 – EPA and FDA issues joint national advisory for mercury

  6. EPA • Mission: To protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment – air, water, and land – upon which life depends. • About a dozen pieces of enabling legislation • CWA permits EPA to assist in State advisory programs • States “own” their advisories • EPA has issued three fish advisories: • 1997 – EPA issued a PCB advisory for four of five Great Lakes bordering Michigan • 2001 – EPA issued national mercury consumption advice on noncommercial fish harvested from untested waters • 2004 – EPA and FDA issued a joint national advisory for mercury

  7. NOAA Authority to Close Federal Waters to Fishing • Protocol for re-opening fisheries • Developed among NOAA, FDA, EPA with input from States • 1. No visible oil • 2. Oganoleptic (taint) • 3. Measured levels of PAH within limits

  8. Upcoming Hg Source Standards But that’s not all Ellen Kurlansky 06/10; revised 08/10 * Section 129 rule

  9. FDA, EPAAdvice Analyses – consumption scenarios Draft advice reviewed by 8 focus groups for clarity Reviewed by Foods Advisory Committee (FDA FACA); Stakeholder meetings to discuss, get feedback. Published 2004 Since July 2002 FDA has tested over 3400 cans of tuna as well as 227 fish samples, comprising 12 different species, for mercury. Effectlevel RfD • FDA continues to sample fish • and shellfish for mercury. • EPA Lakes and Rivers studies 9

  10. EPA’s National Lake Fish Tissue Survey 500 Sampling Locations 300 Results 10/29 /09

  11. US EPA/ FDA 2004 National Fish Advice WOMEN WHO MIGHT BECOME PREGNANT, WOMEN WHO ARE PREGNANT, NURSING MOTHERS, AND YOUNG CHILDREN Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury. Five of the most commonly eaten fish, low in mercury: shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, catfish Another commonly eaten fish, albacore (“white”) tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals …, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week. Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local rivers and coastal areas. If no advice is available, eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but don’t consume any other fish during that week.

  12. What’s New with Fish Advice? • What about estimating MeHg risk at environmental levels? • What about advice to men, menopausal women? • Whence come the fish people eat? • What about other contaminants? • What about sustainability of fisheries?

  13. Risks vs. Benefits of Fish Consumption • FDA analysis: An Evaluation of Risk to U.S. Consumers from Methylmercury in Commercial Fish Products, Including a Quantitative Assessment of Risk and Beneficial Health Effects from Fish. • http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/Seafood/FoodbornePathogensContaminants/Methylmercury/ucm088758.htm • And several others • Ginsberg and Toal 2009 • Oken et al 2008 • Smith et al 2009 • Strain et al 2008 • FAO/WHO 2010

  14. FAO/ WHO Expert Consultation • Acknowledge fish consumption as an important food source • Emphasize the benefits of fish consumption on reducing CHD mortality • Emphasize the neurodevelopment benefits to offspring of fish consumption • Develop, maintain, and improve existing databases on specific nutrients and contaminants • Develop and evaluate risk management and communication strategies

  15. Does Anyone Pay Attention to Fish Advisories? Yes! Mahaffey et al, 2009

  16. Does Anyone Pay Attention to Fish Advisories? No! Chien et al 2010

  17. States with Fish Advisorieshttp://epa.gov/waterscience/fish/advisories/ 1993 2003 899 Advisories 2,362 Advisories

  18. 2008 Listing of Lake Advisories

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