"This is heartbreaking": Study finds dangerous chemicals in freshwater fish

Most locally-caught freshwater fish contain toxic chemicals, according to a new analysis of data from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Researchers looked at more than 500 fish fillet samples sourced across the U.S. and found that nearly all of them contained PFAS or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as "forever chemicals."

"This is heartbreaking and causes a lot of anxiety as well," Tuscarora water protector Jane Jacobs said. She says indigenous communities across North Carolina depend on local waterways to survive. "Tribally, we've been hunter-gatherers for centuries," Jacobs said.

Researchers say most fish samples in the study contained dangerous levels of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), a manufactured additive popularized in the 1950s to resist water and grease, used in products from cookware to stain-resistant carpet. The synthetic toxin was voluntarily phased out in the early 2000s after a growing body of research found links to health harms.

In some studies, higher levels of PFOS in a person's body were associated with elevated cholesterol, changes to liver function, changes in thyroid hormone levels, and reduced immune response. Other studies found an association between chemical exposure and certain cancers including liver and breast cancer.

"Even infrequent consumption of fish could significantly increase PFOS in your body," said Dr. Tasha Stoiber, a senior scientist with the Environmental Working Group and one of the co-authors of the study. "For example, as little as four meals per year could double the level of PFOS in your blood, so that could be a significant source of of exposure."

Stoiber says the median PFAS found in fish was 11,000 part per trillion (ppt). In contrast, the EPA's lifetime drinking water health advisory level for PFOS is .02 ppt.

"If it's not safe in water, it's not going to be safe in fish," said Nadia Barbo, a Duke graduate student that was the study's lead researcher. She says more testing and regulation are needed from public health officials.

"We want states to make advisory levels for PFAS, like they do with like mercury, dioxins, and PCBs," said Barbo.

Currently, North Carolina does not have fish consumption advisories for PFAS, but other states have started issuing them, including Wisconsin and Maine.

Even if there were advisories, Jacobs worries that members of her community wouldn't get the message.

"I'm extremely scared because there's going to be people that don't understand what's going on, especially some of our elders, many of whom cannot read or write," said Jacobs.

The Environmental Working Group published an interactive map listing data by location. Each sample point represents 10 aggregate samples of the same species from the same location and lists the levels of PFAS found in the fish fillets.

The average PFAS level of fish analyzed in North Carolina is 20,337 ppt.

"The total sum of concentration was astounding, devastating," said Emily Donovan, a Wilmington resident who started Clean Cape Fear after she found out her drinking water had been tainted with GenX and other PFAS by Chemours' Fayetteville Works plant.

"We have the right to fish in those rivers, we have a right to live off the land and this hits harder for communities that rely on the river for their food," Donovan said.

Jacobs says she no longer plans to eat freshwater fish and that this news will halt a generations-long tradition in her family.

"Not being able to teach my younger nieces and nephews to fish in the ponds and rivers or my future grandchildren on the way, it's just heartbreaking," Jacobs said. "This was taken away from us by the greed of corporations."

The NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) are in the process of completing an assessment of multiple fish species in the Cape Fear River for PFAS contamination. According to a DEQ update, seven different species of fish were caught in the freshwater sections of the Cape Fear River downstream from Chemours and analyzed for multiple PFAS. NCDEQ and NCDHHS are currently reviewing the data and are working towards providing updated guidance on fish within the Cape Fear River.