Bad news for any angler who likes eating their catch: New research shows eating just one American freshwater fish is equivalent to consuming toxic water for a month. CBS News reports that the study, released by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, has found that fish caught from freshwater lakes and rivers in the United States are hopelessly contaminated with polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAs.
First widely used in the 1940s, PFAs are invisible chemicals that have been slowly phased out but are still used for things like non-stick pans, food packaging, and fire suppression foams. The negative health effects of the chemicals have been known for some time. However, it's only recently that researchers are realizing just how extensively polluted our lakes and rivers are.
Because PFAs are indestructible, they are often called "forever chemicals." And the substances build up over time and inevitably find their way into the fish that live in lakes and streams. Researchers found a median level of 9,500 nanograms of PFAs per kilogram. In the Great Lakes, the problem was worse. The level there was 11,800 nanograms per kilogram. To put it in simpler terms, researchers now say consuming a single freshwater fish is the equivalent of drinking toxic water for a month. CBS News states that the exact number cited would be drinking water loaded with PFAs at 48 parts per trillion.
"The exposure to chemical pollutants in freshwater fish across the United States is a case of environmental injustice that especially affects communities that depend on fishing for sustenance and for traditional cultural practices," states the study, which was published on Science Direct.
According to the study, data was analyzed from 500 samples of fish fillets. These were collected across the United States between 2013 and 2015.
"The median levels of total detected PFAs in freshwater fish across the United States were 278 times higher than levels in commercially relevant fish tested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2019-2022," the study's abstract reads.
In the wake of these newest findings, CBS News notes that many researchers are calling for a crackdown on the use of PFAs. Several European countries have already submitted proposals for total bans on the chemicals.
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