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PCB Toxicity in Great Lakes
birds from ProMED
From: ProMED-mail <promed@usa.healthnet.org>
Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 21:48:31 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: PRO/AH> PCB toxicity, birds - USA (Wisconsin)
PCB TOXICITY, BIRDS - USA (WISCONSIN)
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.healthnet.org/programs/promed.html>
[1]
Date: Wed, 10 May 1999 06:41:40 -0400
From: Marjorie P. Pollack <pollackmp@mindspring.com>
Source: Green Bay News Chronicle [edited]
A report to be released today by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service confirms PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) discharged into the Fox River
are causing injuries to birds in Green Bay [Wisconsin, USA].
The report, part of the Fox River and Green Bay
Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), explains how PCBs harm birds, the importance of
Green Bay to birds, the importance of birds to Green Bay and vast amounts of data
collected showing the levels of PCBs accumulated by birds that live in, or migrate through
the area.
Of 250 species of birds that can be seen in Green
Bay, the wildlife service has comprehensive data on 5 to 10 species, said David Allen,
NRDA specialist for the service. The report uses data collected worldwide on the effects
of polychlorinated biphenyls on birds.
"Waterfowl, like mallard ducks, can be exposed
to a lot of PCBs and not be affected," Allen said. There are consumption advisories
about eating waterfowl shot along the river and bay, but the birds’ health is not
directly impaired except with high levels of PCBs, he added. "Based on studies, there
are enough PCBs to be concerned [about the waterfowl]," he said. "There is a
risk to birds [in other ways]." ( D. Fezler note: ducks are very fatty
fowl and have can store the PCB's in the fat.)
PCBs are causing injuries to terns, Allen said.
There are reproductive injuries so the eggs don’t hatch, and some birds are born with
deformities such as backward feet and twisted bills.
The study shows bald eagles that nest in the
interior of Wisconsin have 4 times more success hatching eggs than eagles that live on the
bay.
Inland eagles hatch and fledge an average of 1.2
eggs per nest per year, compared with 0.3 eggs per nest among Green Bay eagles, Allen
said.
The average needs to be at 1.0 or above for the
birds to have a self-sustaining population, he said. Because of the success of the
hatching/fledging of eagles in the interior of the state means the birds will not
disappear from the state despite the lack of success on the bay. However, the population
could decrease.
"Green Bay acts like a sink," Allen said.
"It’s a drain on inland eagles. Green Bay is a wonderful habitat for eagles, but
they are incapable of breeding here."
Also, terns are not reproducing well along the bay,
he said. Double-breasted cormorants are doing well, but not as well as they could be if
there were no PCBs, he added.
"These actual injuries in Green Bay fit with
the earlier work of the worldwide literature," Allen said. "Do PCBs cause
deformities and decreased reproductive success? Yes."
The report shows the birds are getting the PCBs from
Green Bay. Birds were measured for PCBs when they came to Green Bay, when they were laying
eggs, after the eggs hatched and when they left. Also, the eggs and the food the birds eat
were tested. "The birds measured are getting their PCBs here," Allen said.
[2]
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 06:41:40 -0400
From: Marjorie P. Pollack <pollackmp@mindspring.com>
Source: State News Service: Wisconsin Headlines [edited]
Hunters may want to think twice before dining on
ducks they shoot in the Green Bay area. The US Fish and Wildlife Service warns toxic
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Bay of Green Bay are hurting ducks and other birds
in the area and may pose a danger to hunters who eat the birds. The agency studied more
than two dozen species of birds inhabiting the Green Bay area and found high levels of
PCBs in all of them.
e-mail: promed@usa.healthnet.org
[Readers may be interested in the following
additional reference that presents data relating blood levels of PCBs in humans as it
relates to amounts of fish and waterfowl consumed in diet. - Mod.ES]
Blood PCB, p,p’-DDE, and mirex levels in Great
Lakes fish and waterfowl
consumers in two Ontario communities. Kearney JP;
Cole DC; Ferron LA; Weber
JP. Environ Res, 1999 Feb, 80:2 Pt 2, S138-S149
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