"Do Not Eat Fish" Advisory

[bassin_bug]

A new "DO NOT EAT FISH" advisory was issued last week for the Holston River from the forks of the river (north and south) at Kingsport to Poor Valley Creek in Cherokee Lake. MERCURY CONTAMINATION.

[Yank]

Where that imfo. come from??? YANK

[bassin_bug]

Where that imfo. come from??? YANK

It was reported in The Kingsport Times-News on April 27, 2007. The advisory also included Wautauga Lake. You can read the entire article at

http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9001202

I'm not sure but you may have to register (it is FREE) or log in to read it.

[Yank]

I called the Environmental Board in Nashville . About the Mercury in the upper part of Cherokee Lake . They said that this has been going on for years . That you should limit the amout of fish you eat from Poor valley on up . Below that there is no problem . Yank

[bassin_bug]

There has been an advisory of mercury contamination ongoing for years on the SOUTH fork of the Holston River (the part that comes down from Ft. Patrick Henry Lake past Eastman Chemical and others) but the new advisory now includes the north fork of the river. Just think, the south fork advisory takes in the area where there is fantastic rainbow and brown trout fishing in an area about 3/4 to a mile below the dam. I think a record rainbow trout may have come from that area.

[Yank]

I think the whole thing amounts to MONEY . Shame what man will do for money. I saw the same thing in the Atlantic Ocean off the Jersey Coast. Where New York was dumping it's waste . . Also Champion Paper Company dumping into the French Broad years ago. And people down river came down with Cancer.. Man is is own worst enemy. Yank

[371V]

The article I read explained these new advisories as a change of qualification rather than a new contaminant. The article stated that the EPA lowered the acceptable amount of mercury concentration due to new studies that show even small amounts are linked to various health problems including autism. This mercury supposedly has been there for years... I know that the OLIN company in Saltville, VA polluted the north fork for years (50 years?) and VA has had this advisory to the TN line for at least twenty years... This plants been closed at least that long, but because it's so heavy, you can't get it out.. It gets down in the rocks and ledges were the crawfish and other food sources live and stays there. When the bass, catfish, ect. eat them; they become contaminated.