For PCB contamination of fish in the U.S.
For 2004, the latest I can find figures for, there were 873 advisories in place for PCBs, with 39 states, American Samoa, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe reporting PCB advisories in 2004. There were 4,652,401 lake acres and 110,522 river miles under PCB advisory in 2004. Four states (District of Columbia, Indiana, Minnesota, and New York) issued statewide freshwater (river and/or lake) advisories for PCBs, and seven other states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island) issued PCB advisories for all of their coastal marine waters in 2004. (Source: EPA, 2004 National Listing of Fish Advisories, Fact Sheet {September 2005})
Mercury contamination continues to be the bigger problem, though.
The total number of advisories for mercury increased from 2,362 in 2003 to 2,436 in 2004, with 44 states, 1 territory, and 2 tribes issuing mercury advisories. Seventy-six percent of all advisories have been issued, at least in part, because of mercury. The increase in the number of mercury advisories in 2004 can be attributed to the issuance of new mercury advisories by 20 states and 1 tribe. Most of these new advisories were issued by Florida and Minnesota. To date, 44 states, 2 tribes and 1 territory have issued mercury advisories. Alaska, District of Columbia, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming did not issue advisories in either 2003 or 2004. In 2004, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe was the only state or tribe to issue a mercury advisory for the first time.
A total of 13,183,748 lake acres and 765,399 river miles were under advisory for mercury in 2004. This represents a decrease of 1,467 river miles under advisory between 2003 and 2004. The decrease is a result of changes in waterbody-specific mercury advisories in several states. The total number of river miles under advisory decreased in Minnesota, Michigan, Louisiana, Nebraska, and Georgia, as well as other states. The number of lake acres under advisory in 2004 represents an increase of 114,758 lake acres between 2003 and 2004. The increase is a result of changes to waterbody-specific advisories in several states as well as the addition of Indiana?s statewide advisory for lakes.
Currently, 21 states (Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin) have issued statewide advisories for mercury in freshwater lakes and/or rivers. Twelve states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Texas) have statewide advisories for mercury in their coastal waters. Hawaii has a statewide advisory for mercury in marine fish. The Micmac tribe of Maine has two tribal statewide advisories in effect for mercury in freshwater and marine fish (including lobster). In addition, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe has one tribal statewide for mercury in rivers, lakes, and stock ponds.
(Source: EPA, 2004 National Listing of Fish Advisories, Fact Sheet {September 2005})
