Illinois has ended the statewide testing of fish from Illinois lakes and rivers for organochlorine pesticides such as DDT. Testing for other contaminants, such as methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyls, is not be affected by the change.
Willemert/Getty Images/iStockphotoSPRINGFIELD — Illinois has ended the statewide testing of fish from Illinois lakes and rivers for organochlorine pesticides such as DDT.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), in conjunction with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Department of Agriculture, on Monday announced the discontinuation of the statewide testing.
Testing for other contaminants in fish, such as methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyls, is not be affected by the change.
“The progress made in improving the safety of fish found in Illinois waterways is an incredible victory for public health and a testament to the success of sensible health and safety regulations,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “Banning dangerous pesticides like DDT has made our water cleaner, our food safer, and our state healthier.”
Although organochlorine pesticides such as DDT and similar chemicals have been banned for decades, Illinois has tested for them since 1974 because they were deemed “environmentally persistent” and could build up in the tissue of fish and other animals.
But state officials say the levels of the pesticides found through testing has diminished to near zero over the past nearly 50 years, allowing the state to discontinue testing for those chemicals.
“The work done through the Illinois Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program not only provides important information to residents regarding fish consumption, but it also shows the significant progress being made to reduce pollutants in Illinois waters,” said Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim. “Data clearly shows that these organochlorine pesticides are no longer prevalent in our waters or the fish that live in those waters, which is a testament to the achievements made through the Clean Water Act.”
Dr. Michael Woods, division manager of natural resources at the Department of Agriculture, said Illinois farmers continue to seek the highest yields possible using the best practices.
"To render any contaminant testing obsolete while Illinois farmers continue to produce at historic levels is a success story for the entire state,” he said.
Organochlorine pesticides like DDT were in widespread use across the U.S. dating back to the 1940s. Concerns about the impact of DDT on wildlife, particularly bald eagles, and on people led to its ban for agricultural use in the U.S. in 1972.
Bans on other organochlorine pesticides followed in the 1980s, although concerns remained about levels of the chemicals in the state’s fish population.
In the early 1970s, the state implemented the Illinois Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program, testing fish from the state’s lakes, rivers and streams. Lake Michigan was sampled annually; samples were drawn from rivers and large streams every five years, along with periodic testing of other public lakes.
The testing measured whether fish samples contained pesticides, metals or other dangerous chemicals at a level that would render them unsafe to eat.
In its early days, testing indicated concerning levels of DDT, chlordane and dieldrin in bottom feeding fish such as carp and catfish, making them unsafe to eat. DDT was found at unsafe levels until the early 1980s. Dieldrin, another organochlorine pesticide, was detected in levels deemed to be unsafe to eat as recently as the early 1990s.
Since then, however, the pesticides are no longer found in unsafe amounts, according to state officials. With the chemicals no longer in use, continuation of the testing program for those pesticides was no longer necessary, they said.
IDPH does issue fish consumption advisories when certain chemicals are found at levels that make it advisable to limit consumption of those fish. Those advisories and associated resources can be found online at https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/environmental-health-protection/toxicology/fish-advisories.html.
