Enviro Group Warns Of PCBs In Fish At Mt Island Lake

An environmental group says it has found high levels of "PCBs" that make some fish in Mountain Island Lake unsafe to eat. It's been nine years since federal officials tested PCB levels in large mouth bass at Mountain Island Lake and determined the fish were safe for eating. State water quality officials have not done new sampling since then. PCBs were commonly used in electrical equipment until they were banned in the 70s when they were linked to cancer and birth defects. But PCBs stick around in the soil and tend to accumulate as they move up the food chain. "They could be continuing to wash in with sediments as we develop and have spread development throughout the watershed in Huntersville, Cornelius and Charlotte," says David Merryman of the Catawba Riverkeeper. "All of that stormwater run-off and sediment could be bringing PCBs with it." The Catawba Riverkeeper's samples show large mouth bass in Mountain Island Lake with a PCB concentration of 70 parts per billion. State health officials warn people not to eat fish with concentration higher than 50 parts per billion. Only six lakes in North Carolina currently have PCB fish consumption advisories. Merryman hopes the Riverkeeper's results will prompt state officials to update their fish tissue samples for Mountain Island Lake and warn people not to eat them.