Press Releases

Recommendations for the safe consumption of several fish species based on levels of methylmercury, the type of mercury that can be toxic to humans. Depending on the exposure level, methylmercury can harm the brain and nervous system of people, especially in fetuses and children as they grow.

The recommendations for each fish species are based on levels of methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish sampled from the Feather River and Oroville-area waterbodies.

The tool uses data on 12 types of pollution and environmental factors and seven population characteristics and socioeconomic factors to create scores for each of the state’s 8,000 census tracts.

The draft guidance manual summarizes three Technical Support Documents focused on non-cancer risk, cancer risk, and exposure assessment.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24792413Study is among the first to link long-term exposure to fine particle air pollution, also known as PM2.5, to elevated levels of the reactive protein CRP.

The fish advisory for Clear Lake provides information on fish and shellfish important to Tribal members and other fish consumers. Newly added species of interest to Tribal members include threadfin shad, prickly sculpin, mosquitofish, inland silversides, winged floater mussels, and Asian clams.

Health advisory recommendations for each of the fish species are based on levels of methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish sampled from Little Rock Reservoir.

Vasona Lake and Camden Ponds are part of the 150-acre Vasona Lake County Park in Los Gatos. The largest pond is stocked with rainbow trout. The advisory is based on data from the State Water Resources Control Board’s Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program and the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.

The guidelines for 16 fish species in San Diego Bay and an accompanying advisory for 12 species in nearby Mission Bay. The recommendations for Mission Bay are less restrictive than for San Diego Bay, with no fish species listed in the “do not eat” category. The recommendations are based on the levels of methylmercury and PCBs in different fish species in the two bodies of water.

State sport fish advisory for San Luis Obispo County’s Oso Flaco Lake. Oso Flaco Lake is part of the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, a California State Park. More than 50 fish from the lake were collected and analyzed for the presence of contaminants. The pesticides the fish were tested for—chlordanes, DDTs, and dieldrin—are legacy chemicals that have been prohibited for many years due to their high toxicity and persistence in the environment.