MDCH Releases Health Consultation on Saginaw River Dioxin Exposures and Health Risks

February 13, 2007

The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) has released a final public health consultation that confirms that eating some dioxin contaminated Saginaw River fish represents a public health hazard. These findings emphasize that people should closely follow the Michigan interim fish consumption advisory for the Saginaw River, which states:

- No one should eat carp, catfish, or white bass;

- Women of childbearing age and children under the age of 15 should not eat smallmouth bass;

- All other people are advised to eat no more than one meal of smallmouth bass per week;

- Women of childbearing age and children under the age of 15 should eat no more than one meal per month of walleye less than 22 inches in length and 6 meals per year of larger walleye;

- All other people are advised that walleye smaller than 22 inches may be eaten in unlimited quantities, but larger walleye should be eaten no more often than once per week; and

- For all other species of fish caught in the Saginaw River, women of childbearing age and children under the age of 15 should eat no more than one meal per month and all other people may eat these fish one meal per week.

The interim fish consumption advisory will be updated in 2008 when new data on chemical levels in fish from the Saginaw River is available.

This health consultation shows that minority fish consumers, especially women of childbearing age and their children, are at greater health risk from eating potentially contaminated fish from the Saginaw River. MDCH surveys show that more than 80 percent of all local fish consumers feed the fish they catch to their family members, including young children. For a copy of the Saginaw River Health Consultation or to obtain the Michigan Family Fish Consumption Guide, go to www.michigan.gov/mdch or call 1-800-648-6942.