In Remote Parts Of Olympic & Mt. Rainier National Parks, Trout Unsafe To Eat (Hg)

[hatrack]

You may turn up your nose at farmed Atlantic salmon or shrimp raised in ponds in China if you're searching for wholesome, safe foods. But do you eschew fish pulled from a remote lake in a U.S. national park? Maybe so if you're concerned about eating elevated levels of mercury and chemical flame retardants. Some trout from secluded lakes in Olympic and Mount Rainier national parks were so polluted they reached unsafe levels for routine human consumption, according to a study out Tuesday.

"We're looking at some of the most pristine areas left in North America that are under the protection of the national parks, and we're finding some alarming results," said Dixon Landers, a senior scientist with the Environmental Protection Agency's National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory.

The six-year investigation looked at pollution in air, water, sediment, lichen, conifer needles and fish in eight Western parks from Alaska to California. Because the locations are rarely visited by people, the prime source of the pollution is from the air. Contamination from pesticides and flame retardants is believed to have more local sources, whereas the origins of mercury pollution are regional and global.

Mercury levels in some fish from Olympic National Park were some of the highest measured in the study, exceeding the 185 parts per billion standard that triggers warnings for people. The concentrations were well into the danger zone for wildlife that eat fish, including birds called kingfishers, otters and mink.

EDIT

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/352814_parkpollute27.html?source=mypi

[phantom power]

1. Maybe we should retire the term "pristine."

There is no such place of that description.