Marylanders should be wary of contaminated fish

It was very concerning to read the latest warnings about fish contaminated by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Maryland’s rivers and streams (“Maryland issues new advisories for fish contaminated with PFAS; crabs and oysters given all-clear,” Dec. 8).

I commend the Maryland Department of the Environment for prioritizing consumer safety.

However, it is past time to ban these “forever chemicals” that threaten the health of Maryland consumers. It’s important to note that these MDE advisories only report on perfluorooctane sulfonate or PFOS.

Though PFOS has not been produced since 2002, its presence at levels of concern over two decades later is cause for alarm.

No consumption safety information is being provided for the many other PFAS chemicals that are currently manufactured and in active use.

This could make these advisories falsely reassuring about the safety of local fish consumption.

A recent study warned that people who eat just one U.S. freshwater fish a year are likely to show a significant increase of PFOS in their bloodstream. This is particularly concerning for people with lower incomes who rely on the fish they catch for sustenance.

Besides being found in non-stick surfaces, waterproof fabrics and firefighting foam sources mentioned in the article, some of which have been recently banned in Maryland, PFAS are also present in pesticides which are widely used throughout Maryland on farmlands and fields from which runoff flows into rivers and streams.

Of further concern, there is no research to date on the synergistic effects of the combination of PFAS and pesticides, each of which pose serious risks for human health.

MDE’s fish advisories will be an important source of health and safety information for Marylander’s fishing in local waters, but the list of contaminants needs to be complete and readily accessible.

Information on all 24 of the PFAS currently being tested for by MDE needs to be added as soon as it is available to give a true picture of the risk of eating locally caught fish. I am hopeful the Maryland General Assembly will take up the issue of PFAS contamination in 2024 and help make Maryland’s waters and fisheries safe for everyone to enjoy.

Eliminating the sources of this contamination should be a priority in next year’s session.