PFBC: Release 2009 Report NOW!

"PFBC river biol­o­gist Geof­frey Smith says the com­mis­sion has been study­ing the lesions, with help from the U.S. Geo­log­i­cal Sur­vey. In the mean­time, Smith says the black spot­ted fish are also show­ing up in the upper Allegheny River, the Juni­ata River, F.J. Say­ers Lake, and Pin­chot Lake. Smith says pre­vi­ous pathol­ogy results from sim­i­lar lesions indi­cated the spots were not malig­nant. But he’s unsure if that’s the case with this spring’s crop of fish.
  

And fig­ur­ing out what the lesions are, may be eas­ier than trac­ing the cause. Sev­eral con­t­a­m­i­nants enter the river from dif­fer­ent sources. Smith writes that a 2009 analy­sis of fish tis­sue revealed “15 PCB con­geners, 13 flame retar­dants, two per­sonal care prod­ucts, 14 organochlo­rine pes­ti­cides, and nine other pes­ti­cides and their respec­tive break-down products.”

Check out the entire article and the comments.

As a citizen and resident of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, my tax dollars helped pay for that 2009 analysis. I sent the following request to my local Congressman this morning:

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Dear Representative Godshall:

I am requesting a copy of the 2009 PFBC report referenced in this article:

http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2012/05/01/fish-and-boat-commission-says-its-too-soon-to-diagnose-black-spots-on-fish/

I would prefer an electronic copy, if possible.


Thank you.

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The clock is ticking.