EPA study shows high levels of toxins in fish
A recent study by the Environmental Protection Administration has found
that fish in Taiwan's rivers generally contain high levels of
flame-retardant toxic chemicals in their tissues.

The chemicals, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, are widely
used as an inexpensive flame retardant in consumer goods such as
furniture, building materials, plastic products, and electronic
devices.

Medical researchers have found that an excessive accumulation of PBDEs
over time could cause swelling of the thyroid gland and possibly lead
to thyroid cancer.

In the EPA study, conducted this March and August, various types of
freshwater fish were captured from nine rivers midstream and three
river mouths, and 60 samples were analyzed.

The tested waterways were Yilan's Lanyang River, Miaoli's Houlong
River, Taichung's Dajia River, Changhua's Wu River, Jiayi's Bajang
River and Kaohsiung's Fengshan River. The river mouths were at
Hsiangshan, Lukang and Erren rivers.

The fish caught from Erren River, a natural border separating Tainan
and Kaohsiung counties, had the highest level of PBDEs.

The average concentration of PBDEs in these samples was higher those in
northern Europe, but lower than those in the Great Lakes in the United
States.

The EPA assured the public that market fish are usually farm-raised or
caught in the ocean and are relatively safe to eat, but officials are
urging freshwater fishermen not to eat any fish they catch.

Certain forms of PBDE's have also been found in soil sediments, on
computer and desk surfaces, on the insides of residential windows, and
in meat and dairy products.

While there are currently no standards for PBDE levels in food, the
European Union banned several types of PBDE's last year.

The EPA also plans to restrict the use of two forms of PBDEs soon. In
1999, it restricted the use of a deca-PBDE but did not ban it.

PBDEs came into use in the 1970s, as manufacturers, responding to
strong consumer-protection laws, placed brominated flame-retardants in
household products, particularly plastic ones.

Fire department officials say that these have saved hundred of lives
from fires as well as prevented the release of incineration byproducts
like dioxin.

Products are coated in PBDEs to become flame-retardant, but the
chemical is not molecularly bound to anything. Therefore, when the
product is disposed of as waste, the PBDEs disengage and attach
themselves to dust particles, thus entering the food chain.

As a class of so-called organic compounds, PBDEs have been found to
build up inside organisms due to their fat solubility. Other PBDEs
properties include semi-volatilization and difficulty in degradation.

Humans, at the top of the food chain, are more likely to ingest more
concentrated chemicals, and fat-soluble toxins, which is why health
professionals have become deeply concerned about the effects of PBDEs
in humans -- particularly in breast milk.

Toxins have tainted breast milk since 1951 with the highest
concentrated toxins being being DDT and PCB. This issue has troubled
doctors and mothers alike because PBDEs may remain in human tissue for
several months to several years and endanger the immune systems of
future generations.

Source:Taiwan News(2005/11/08 14:00:3
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