Pennsylvania officials urge residents not to eat fish from Cumberland and Franklin counties due to dangerous PFOS levels, impacting local fishing traditions.
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) and the PA Fish and Boat Commission are telling people not to eat the fish they catch in parts of Cumberland and Franklin counties, as new studies show high levels of forever chemicals in Middle Spring Creek.
With trout season just a couple of weeks away, anglers are going to see fewer fish in the water.
“This is the first time they’ve come out and said, don’t eat these fish,” Dr. Sean Cornell, president of Middle Spring Watershed Association and associate professor at Shippensburg University, said.
The warning comes after the PA DEP officials found dangerously high levels of pollution known as perfluorooctane sulfonate, or PFOS, in the Middle Spring Creek fish, which is unsafe for consumption.
Now, officials will not be stocking trout in the creek in Cumberland and Franklin counties.
“It’s going to have a profound effect on, you know, the traditions and history that these folks have had,” Dr. Cornell said.
PFOS are considered a forever chemical and, without treatment to the water sources, the EPA studies determined it can harm the immune system, damage the liver, raise cholesterol, and disrupt thyroid hormones.
Many homes in the area use wells to pump in drinking water, too.
DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley said in a release: “Protecting public health is a top priority for us. Advisories like these are not something that we recommend lightly, and DEP will continue to sample fish species and revisit this recommendation in the future.”
While it is still safe to fish, officials advise not to consume fish or drink water from creeks and streams in the area.
The PA Fish and Boat Commission also shared in the notice that trout will be stocked at other locations at the beginning of the season, starting in April, where the water is safe.