Groups seek dioxin tests downstream
 Wednesday, April 12, 2006
 JEREMIAH STETTLER THE SAGINAW NEWS

A coalition of environmental and citizens' groups has petitioned a branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to show that dioxin has imperiled public health along the Saginaw River.

The environmental watchdog group Lone Tree Council called on the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to conduct a health consultation.

The consultation, which more than two dozen individuals and environmental groups support, would examine the health effects contaminated fish pose to anglers and their families.

"Residents of Michigan are entitled to fish with the expectation that their catch is healthy and safe," said Dr. David Gustavison, a Saginaw physician and angler who signed his name to the petition. "When that safety is called into question, then it warrants being investigated for the protection of public health."

The federal agency authorized a health consultation for the Tittabawassee River in 2001 that revealed pervasive dioxin contamination downstream of Dow Chemical Co.

Environmentalists now want the agency to continue its work downstream -- in the Saginaw River.

"It is time we put that same focus on the Saginaw River," said Michelle Hurd Riddick, spokeswoman for the Lone Tree Council.

Dr. Neill D. Varner, medical director for the Saginaw County Public Health Department, said a health consultation likely would yield little new information about the river system. He called it "redundant," considering previous work along the Tittabawassee River.

"I'm sort of bewildered by it," he said. "The Saginaw River is a continuation of the same waterway with the same kinds of sediment dioxin concentrations."

Varner said state officials already have posted signs along the river that warn people about eating contaminated fish. The advisories, which apply to both the Saginaw and Tittabawassee rivers, caution against eating too much of certain kinds of fish.

He said state health officials also lack the data to draw a connection between dioxin in the soil and dioxin in the blood. Until the University of Michigan finishes its research on the topic this fall, Varner said a health consultation will do little good.

Hurd Riddick disagreed. She said the Saginaw River desperately needs more research, particularly after soil samples revealed dioxin levels up to 16,000 parts per trillion -- a level almost 180 times higher than the 90 parts per trillion state law allows.

A federal examination could introduce new data, resources and education into the preservation of a river that historic pollution has plagued, Hurd Riddick said.

Contamination now threatens anglers and subsistence fishermen who rely on the river for food, she said.

"This God-given source of protein (fish) should be accessible to everyone," Hurd Riddick said. "Essentially, this inexpensive food source has been contaminated. It's a huge economic resource being denied the people of this watershed." v

Jeremiah Stettler is a staff writer for The Saginaw News. You may reach him at 776-9685.
 

For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawassee River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.