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EPA DISTRIBUTES BROCHURES IN THREE LANGUAGES TO HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ON DANGERS OF EATING CONTAMINATED FISH

Release Date: 02/05/99
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1999


EPA DISTRIBUTES BROCHURES IN THREE LANGUAGES TO HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ON DANGERS OF EATING CONTAMINATED FISH


The EPA and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry are sponsoring a nationwide effort to inform health professionals and their patients about the dangers of eating fish harvested from contaminated waters. Through a letter to 100,000 family physicians across the nation, doctors are asked to advise their patients to pay attention to state or tribal-issued fish consumption advisories. Doctors will also receive brochures, written in English, Spanish, and Hmong, an Asian dialect, that describe how to safely consume fish and minimize exposure to contaminated fish. Copies of these brochures are also being sent to state and tribal environmental and public health professionals, along with a paper summarizing the latest research on the dangers of eating PCB-contaminated fish. These chemicals are responsible for many of the fish consumption advisories in the United States. The EPA has issued national guidance to all states and tribes to help ensure national consistency in establishing advisories and providing public notification. Copies of the brochures and information on fish and wildlife advisories are available at the EPA Office of Science and Technology website at: https://www.epa.gov/ost/fish, or by calling EPA publication center in Cincinnati at 513-489-8190.

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