|
 |
|
Defining a national baseline for fish contamination
 The
National Study of Chemical Residues in Lake Fish Tissue (or the National
Fish Tissue Study) is a four-year national screening-level freshwater
fish contamination study. We are conducting this study as a priority activity
under the Agency's Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic (PBT) Chemicals
Initiative. The National Fish Tissue Study is the first national fish
tissue survey to be based on a probabilistic (random) sampling design,
and it will generate data on the largest set of PBT chemicals ever studied
in fish. The statistical design of the study will allow us to develop
national estimates of the mean concentrations of 268 chemicals in fish
tissue from lakes and reservoirs of the lower 48 States. We will use the
study results to define national background levels for the 265 chemicals
in fish, to provide a baseline to track progress of pollution control
activities, and to identify areas where contaminant levels are high enough
to warrant further investigation.
|
