Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times
On the banks of the Hudson River just north of the George Washington Bridge, a fisherman tries his luck.
Posted on 08/19/2006 8:55:32 PM PDT by neverdem
CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y., Aug. 14 — On a recent cloudless afternoon, Croton Point Park seemed to be a fishing paradise. The tide was low; the breeze was soft. Families picnicked and people stood along the shore with fishing rods, casting out into the Hudson in hopes of catching and carrying away one of the river’s coveted bluefish or striped bass.
The only problem — though it was invisible — was in the fish themselves.
“We’ve been coming here to get our fish for many years, and it’s been great,” said Miguel Tejada, holding a sleek fishing rod in his hands as his wife and two small children looked on. “I have heard people say that you should not eat the fish here too much, that the fish are not safe. But I’m not really worried.”
For years, state health officials have warned that because of mercury and PCB contamination, women of childbearing age and children under 15 should not eat any fish from the Hudson River, and other people should do so only sparingly. Studies and surveys have nonetheless found that many people are either unaware of those warnings or, like Mr. Tejada, simply ignore them.
But scientists are finding that the consequences for those who turn a blind eye are hard to overlook. An examination of 124 anglers at a half-dozen piers and fishing clubs along the lower Hudson River found that those who reported eating locally caught fish — about 80 percent of the group — had about twice as much mercury in their blood as the others, according to a recently released study.
That report is the first to document the levels of mercury in anglers who regularly get their meals from the lower Hudson, which the health department defines as south from the Rip Van Winkle Bridge...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The usual infirmities of the "Filet and Release" crowd.
Not to worry. The state and the feds will get their last laugh on GE and make them dredge the whole thing at a cost of $500mil or so.
A simple look at the way NY treated GE will let everyone in on the little secret of why companies outsource to other countries.
Now, there are areas in upstate NY that are literally dead in all ways because NY killed the golden goose. Now NY and the feds are getting one last laugh on choking the already dead goose...remember that next time fools whine about jobs leaving the country.
LOL! After reading the headline I was wondering how many posts it would take before that graphic appeared....
And how much is "twice as much"?
PCB? Printed Circuit Board?
"...mercury and PCB contamination,..."
Buh-bye!
polychlorinated biphenyls
Quite often used as a coolant in transformers. That's all I know.
Is this true? On a trip with my son to my home town in the Mid Hudson Valley, we stopped off at the Palisades to view the river and the NYC Skyline. The number of eagles and hawks over the river caught my eye. Seems to me they'd be the first afflicted and yet have heard of no reports on pollution endangering the predators.
"PCB? Printed Circuit Board?"
Polychlorinated biphenyls.
Just don't eat the "Coney Island Whirefish"!
Isn't anyone worried that "immigrants" are eating the fish?????
"Isn't anyone worried that "immigrants" are eating the fish?"
Lord, forgive me for what I was thinking.
The fish bite well here... 
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