By Debbie Robinson
news@joplinglobe.com
MIAMI, Okla. — Representatives from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality reported Tuesday night on findings of a new study that carries cautions about the consumption of fish caught in the Tar Creek area.
About a half-dozen people attended the public meeting in the Miami High School cafeteria.
Elevated levels of lead, zinc and cadmium were found in fish caught in former mine mill ponds in the Picher-Cardin area, in the Spring and Neosho rivers downstream from the area, in Grand Lake, and in the Grand-Neosho River below Pensacola Dam. The Tar Creek area is a designated Environmental Protection Area Superfund site because of pollution associated with its lead- and zinc-mining history.
Residents of the Tar Creek area already “have a higher exposure level to lead than nonresidents do” said Jay Wright, environmental program director.
Wright said the lead, zinc and cadmium are known to collect in the bones and organs of fish, so the study included various preparation methods including carcass, skin-on fillets and paddlefish eggs.
“Our take-home message we want to leave is, if you want to reduce your exposure to metals in fish, you should be eating boneless, skinless fillets,” Wright said.
Paddlefish and eggs, and catfish showed barely detectable levels of lead, Wright said, so recommendations on consumption levels generally are unrestricted.
Other fish that were studied included nongame fish, such as carp, freshwater drum, redhorse sucker and smallmouth buffalo; bluegill sunfish and green sunfish; and game fish, including white bass, largemouth bass, spotted bass, black crappie and white crappie.
There is a local custom of grinding fish, bones included, and making fish patties or canning the fish. The practice is not recommended, said Monty Elder, emergency response coordinator.
The study’s restrictions were based on healthy eating for small children, who are more at risk for serious health problems if they are exposed to lead.
“We made an assumption that a safe level for a child to consume is a safe level for adults,” Wright said.
An example of the advisories includes consumption of nongame fish in Grand Lake, and the Spring and Neosho rivers.
The advisory recommends a maximum of three meals per month of preparations with bones, or nine meals a month of boneless fillets for fish caught in Spring River.
The advisory for Neosho River is eight meals a month for preparation with bones.
Six meals a month is the maximum recommended for preparations with bones for nongame fish caught in Grand Lake, into which the Spring and Neosho rivers flow.
Game fish were unrestricted in all rivers and lakes studied. But in the case of mill ponds, the study advises limiting consumption to 14 meals a month if the fish are prepared with bones.
The only source where catfish carried a restriction is Spring River. The study advises that meals with Spring River catfish should be limited to nine a month if they are prepared with bones.
Sunfish consumption was unrestricted for fish caught in the Neosho River or Grand Lake, but limited to five meals a month for fish caught in Spring River, if they are prepared with bones.
Wright said ponds and rivers in the Tar Creek area are not only affected by the Picher-Cardin area, but from runoff from lead contamination in former mining fields in the Joplin, Mo., area and in Southeast Kansas.
Free copies
Free copies of the pocket-size, fish-consumption guide will be available at the Ottawa County Health Department, at Twin Bridges State Park, at the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and at tribal offices.
Local News
Study carries some restrictions for fish caught in Tar Creek area
- Local News
-
-
City wants to buy weather radios for those without
Phil Jones had been working on a construction project outside his house all day on May 22 and was unaware that a tornado watch had been issued. Once he was inside, though, his weather radio went off, and he learned that a warning had been issued.
-
Cold air headed this way
The Arctic front that passed over Missouri this morning will bring dangerously cold temperatures to the region tonight and Saturday.
-
Miami, Okla., man dies along I-44
A 27-year-old Miami, Okla., who appeared to be walking along I-44 in an attempt to get help after wrecking his car, is dead after being hit by a pickup truck.
-
Mo. presidential primary sets low mark in turnout
Just 8 percent of Missouri’s registered voters cast ballots in this week’s presidential primary.
-
Okla. court upholds man’s life sentence in deaths
An Oklahoma appeals court has upheld the life in prison sentences of a man convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the shotgun slayings of two men at a Sperry residence.
-
Architects present preliminary JHS plans at community meeting
Reaction appeared mostly supportive Thursday night among the roughly 50 people who attended a community meeting at which architects presented their preliminary site plans for the future combined Joplin High School and Franklin Technology Center.
-
Confessed shooter testifies against co-defendants in Pittsburg murder case
Rickey Smith testified Thursday that as he came in the back door of Ryan Bailey’s home in Pittsburg with a 9 mm pistol in his hand, Bailey looked up from the couch in his living room.
-
School district’s proposed street-closing plan questioned
Plans to close some streets near the proposed Joplin High School drew questions, including a challenge from a former Joplin mayor, during a public hearing this week.
-
Mike Pound: Spirit of competition evident during double-overtime game
When I played basketball in high school, I played in several very close games.
Now, some people who may have known me in high school are probably laughing right now and saying, “What Mike meant to say is that when he was in high school, he came very close to playing in some games.” -
Neosho council approves new golf cart contract
The purchase of golf carts was back on the agenda this week for the Neosho City Council. City Attorney Steve Hays said there were errors in the financing terms that were part of a bid approved last month for the purchase of 55 gas-powered carts from E-Z-Go for $144,195, so the purchase of a new fleet was rebid.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
