Helt dept/no eat dem fish

[Lee Borgersen]

   Health department says don’t eat fish from this Twin Cities lake.


  .....
ST. PAUL -- Officials have given Lake Elmo an unwelcome distinction — home of the most toxic fish in the state.


The Department of Health on Thursday, May 3, announced that no fish from the eastern Twin Cities area lake should be eaten by anyone, because they contain high levels of xxx a chemical manufactured by the 3M Co.

 
Fish-eating bans usually apply to certain species of fish, or to certain people, such as pregnant women. But the complete ban on Lake Elmo fish is the state’s first, out of fish-eating restrictions for 1,410 Minnesota lakes.


In a conference call with reporters, officials also said that no one should eat largemouth bass from Lake Harriet because they contain the same chemical pollutant.

It issued tougher fish-eating restrictions for four other lakes, for various types of fish and for varying populations — Bde Maka Ska (formerly Calhoun) Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis, Lake Johanna in Arden Hills and Twin Lake in Brooklyn Center.

More restrictive advisories were also applied to Pool 2 of the Mississippi River, between the Ford Dam in St. Paul and Hastings.

The fish in these four lakes and the Mississippi contain high levels of PFOS, or perfluorooctane sulfonate, formerly used by 3M to make nonstick cookware and fire-extinguishing foam.

Officials suspect that the pollution is coming from the former 3M dump site in Oakdale.

Before eating fish from in Minnesota lakes, the state Department of Natural Resources recommends checking its Lake-Finder website at www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/index.html.

[Rebel SS]

Who the hey would eat fish outta Lake Harriet anyway??!?!