In the spring of 2005, while netting yellow perch in South River, the Chesapeake Bay Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found brown bullhead catfish with red, puffy lesions on their lips. They immediately notified the Federation.
In January 2006, we contributed $3200 for lab tests. Dr. Fred Pinkney(USFWS) sent the bullheads to Dr. John Harshbarger, a tumor pathologist with the George Washington University Medical Center. Dr. Harshbarger identified cancers of the mouth and liver at an unusually high rate. "The fish are clearly exposed to cancer-causing agents, and at this point, we really don’t know what chemicals are responsible” said Dr. Pinkney. “We suspect it’s from polluted runoff.”
This emphasizes the need for a Watershed Restoration Fund, a dedicated utility that will pay for projects to filter and treat runoff before it enters our waterways in the first place.
This year, more fish have be analyzed to find the cause of the cancer. We have also taken sediment samples from the river bottom to have them analyzed for organic compounds (results are pending). Our goal is to determine what chemicals are causing the cancer and whether these same toxins are present in the sediment.
Read the Full Report
Read the Press Release issued 1-24-06
Our Elected Officials Respond 1-26-06
WJZ TV's Local News Coverage 1-26-06
Read the Capital Article 1-25-06
Read the Washington Post Article 1-25-06
New Guidelines set for South River Catfish, Capital Article 4-10-06
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH's)'s, are a major compnent of asphalt and tar and have been found in high concentrations in other areas with cancerous fish.
