Event Title

Current Uses of the Fish Consumption Rate

Presentation Abstract

Current Uses of the Fish Consumption Rate By Rory O’Rourke Environmental Scientist, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe For the 2014 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Session Title: “Washington Fish Consumption Rate: one number, hundreds of human health and environmental management decisions, millions of consumers” The fish consumption rate is a per-capita estimate of total daily finfish and shellfish from local waters used to calculate the water quality standards. In Washington, tribal consumption has been the main focus due to tribal members’ increased exposure to modern and legacy pollutants through subsistence treaty harvest. While much effort has been made on deriving an accurate and protective fish consumption rate, much of that work will not be taken into account when determining cleanup standards since is often limited by policy and practically by the detection limits and natural/regional background. These decisions can substantially impact the selection and effectiveness of remedies. Any toxics reduction is important to consider, even if the final standard is still above human health-risk levels based on tribal exposure scenarios. While a state agency might consider one alternative marginally beneficial, a tribal community might consider those same options to be a dramatic improvement. Therefore, it is important to collaborate with the local community in order to select remedies that address concerns related to designated uses and treaty rights. In addition, state agencies should work with tribal communities to address what further steps should be taken to reduce health risks when cleanup standards are still above health-based standards. These issues will be presented in the context of the Port Gamble S’Klallam community and the cleanup of Port Gamble Bay.

Session Title

Session S-03B: Washington Fish Consumption Rate: One Number, Hundreds of Human Health and Environmental Management Decisions, Millions of Consumers

Conference Track

Toxics

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)

Document Type

Event

Start Date

30-4-2014 3:30 PM

End Date

30-4-2014 5:00 PM

Location

Room 608-609

Genre/Form

conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)

Contributing Repository

Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Subjects – Topical (LCSH)

Fish as food--Contamination--Washington (State)--Gamble, Port (Bay); Fishes--Environmental aspects-Washington (State)--Gamble, Port (Bay); Shellfish--Environmental aspects-Washington (State)--Gamble, Port (Bay)

Geographic Coverage

Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe; Gamble, Port (Bay : Wash.); Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)

Rights

This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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COinS
 
Apr 30th, 3:30 PM Apr 30th, 5:00 PM

Current Uses of the Fish Consumption Rate

Room 608-609

Current Uses of the Fish Consumption Rate By Rory O’Rourke Environmental Scientist, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe For the 2014 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Session Title: “Washington Fish Consumption Rate: one number, hundreds of human health and environmental management decisions, millions of consumers” The fish consumption rate is a per-capita estimate of total daily finfish and shellfish from local waters used to calculate the water quality standards. In Washington, tribal consumption has been the main focus due to tribal members’ increased exposure to modern and legacy pollutants through subsistence treaty harvest. While much effort has been made on deriving an accurate and protective fish consumption rate, much of that work will not be taken into account when determining cleanup standards since is often limited by policy and practically by the detection limits and natural/regional background. These decisions can substantially impact the selection and effectiveness of remedies. Any toxics reduction is important to consider, even if the final standard is still above human health-risk levels based on tribal exposure scenarios. While a state agency might consider one alternative marginally beneficial, a tribal community might consider those same options to be a dramatic improvement. Therefore, it is important to collaborate with the local community in order to select remedies that address concerns related to designated uses and treaty rights. In addition, state agencies should work with tribal communities to address what further steps should be taken to reduce health risks when cleanup standards are still above health-based standards. These issues will be presented in the context of the Port Gamble S’Klallam community and the cleanup of Port Gamble Bay.