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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 1991
The Utah Department of Environmental Quality, the Utah Department of Health, and the Uintah Basin Public Health Department have issued a Public Health Advisory for fish and waterfowl taken from the lower Ashley Creek drainage and Stewart Lake in Uintah County. Data from tissue samples show elevated selenium concentrations in fish, ducks and American coots at that Uintah County site.
The Advisory warns that pregnant or nursing women and children under 15 years of age should not eat any fish, ducks, or American coots taken from the lower Ashley Creek drainage area. Adults are advised to eat no more than 6 ounces of meat per week from these sources, and to abstain from eating waterfowl livers where selenium tends to concentrate.
Selenium is a chemical element resembling sulfur. In trace amounts it is a nutritional requirement, but excess dietary intake of selenium is known to cause skin and gastrointestinal disorders. There is an unproven possibility that ingesting large amounts of selenium may cause fetal malformations in pregnant women.
There is no evidence to date of any human selenium intoxication resulting from exposure to these sources in Uintah County. However, as a precautionary measure, based on data from U.S. Department of Interior studies, it has been determined that a Public Health Advisory concerning consumption of fish, duck and American coots is warranted.
The Advisory applies to Ashley Creek and tributaries from the confluence with Green River upstream to the Ashley Valley Sewer Management Board lagoons, the Winter Storage Pond, and Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area. This Advisory supersedes the Advisory issued in 1988 for Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area, and is in effect until further notice. In 1983, elevated levels of selenium were documented in water, sediment and plants and animals from the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in the San Joaquin Valley of California.
The resultant manifestations of adverse impacts, e.g., fish and waterfowl, in the ecosystem of that area prompted the United States Department of Interior to initiate investigations in nine areas in the western United States. One of these areas was within the Middle Green River Basin in Utah. The Department of Interior study team in Utah was led by the U.S. Geological Survey with the cooperation and participation of scientists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and with the advice and consent of the Utah Department of Health. This survey team focused the 1986-87 reconnaissance study on the Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area and the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge in Uintah County, Utah. One objective of the study was to obtain preliminary data on tissue levels of selenium in fish and waterfowl taken from these two areas.
Limited data from that study indicated elevated selenium concentrations in some of the water samples and in some fish and waterfowl from these sources, and in 1988 a Public Health Advisory was issued for Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area. More detailed studies were conducted in 1988-1989 throughout the lower Ashley Creek drainage. The data confirm elevated selenium concentrations in water samples and in fish, duck, and American coot tissue samples.
The Bureau of Reclamation is now the lead agency to develop and analyze potential alternatives to determine the best methods to remediate the elevated selenium levels. During this phase of the Department of Interior program, the public will be invited to participate in the process, and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance will occur.
This Advisory, issued jointly by the Uintah Basin Public Health Department, the Utah Department of Health, and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, is effective as of the date of issuance, August 22, 1991 and will remain in effect until further Public Notice.
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