Formatted Title:

Can the Effectiveness of Fish Consumption Advisories be Enhanced Prior to Remedy Implementation at Superfund Sites

Background/Objectives:

Fish consumption advisories are an important component of the remedies selected for many Superfund sediment sites. These advisories are typically implemented as Institutional Controls (ICs) to protect human health while monitored natural recovery (MNR) processes reduce contaminant concentrations in biota over time. For many Superfund sites, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) includes fish consumption advisories as an IC in the Record of Decision (ROD) without an evaluation of their effectiveness. This may be an artifact of the following: fish consumption advisories are often already in place, having been previously issued by the local State Department of Public Health, and human health risk assessments appropriately assume that a fish consumption advisory is not present. The net result of these actions is that the effectiveness of a fish consumption advisory for a given site may not be evaluated until after the remedy is implemented and USEPA conducts their first five-year review (FYR) for the site. This approach is inconsistent with the precautionary principle used by USEPA to select long-term remedial goals for protecting human health at a site. To avoid this concern for the Operable Unit 4 (OU-4) portion of the Anniston PCB Site, a site-specific creel study was recently conducted in advance of a forthcoming ROD. A key objective for this creel study was to identify potential means, methods and tools that could be used to improve the effectiveness of the fish consumption advisories.

Approach/Activities:

An intercept creel survey was conducted for the OU-4 portion of the Anniston PCB Site in 2023. The objectives of this survey included the collection of data that could be used to assess the effectiveness of the current fish consumption advisory and to identify additional actions and tools to increase its effectiveness, if warranted. The intercept survey was conducted over a span of 101 days and included the collection of data for angler demographics, fishing habits, knowledge of fish consumption advisories, and fish consumption habits.

Results/Lessons Learned:

The survey results indicated that the fish consumption advisories were effective and consistent with the results of a prior creel study. Of the angler population surveyed, most do not eat fish and are aware of the existing fish consumption advisories but not clear on the specifics. Among those surveyed who reported eating fish, the majority indicated they would follow or consider following the advisories if information about the advisories was more accessible. Most anglers were high school graduates, primarily English speaking, and span a wide range of ages. The anglers also identified ways to increase public awareness including additional signage at boating ramps, social media, and including advisory-related information with fishing licenses.

These survey data are also being used to evaluate additional actions that could increase the effectiveness of the fish consumption advisories. These actions will be implemented prior to remedy construction and could include further expansion of the signage program, augmenting signage with QR codes to provide location-specific information on the advisories, radio/TV advertisements, the posting of informational flyers with QR codes in local bait/tackle shops, including advisory information with the purchase of fishing licenses, and the use of smart phone apps.

The other lesson learned is the benefit of including an evaluation of fish consumption advisories during the Feasibility Study process with a goal of identifying actions that will maximize the effectiveness of the advisories. This approach provides USEPA with site-specific information regarding activities that could be implemented as part of the selected remedy to enhance the protection of human health prior to conducting FYRs.

John Schell

Affiliation

Refine Results

Can the Effectiveness of Fish Consumption Advisories be Enhanced Prior to Remedy Implementation at Superfund Sites