Environmental Toxins: Alaskan Fish Low in PCBs

While dioxins have been found in the Native Arctic Canadian women, a study shows low levels of toxins in Alaska fish. Bob Gerlach, the state veterinarian and Alaska wild food safety coordinator at the Department of Environmental Conservation, conducted the study on more than 600 fish samples collected from Ketchikan to the Norton Sound. Said Gerlach of the results: "It is tremendously good news."

Alaska Report

Alaska's fish show low levels of PCBs and other organic pollutants. Fish become contaminated after being exposed to the chemicals or by eating other fish that have been exposed. PCBs were once used in the manufacturing of electrical equipment and are known to be linked to a heightened cancer risk in humans following human consumption of the fish. Apart from establishing Alaskan fish as "safe to eat," the study also sets a baseline against which future environmental pollution data can be compared.