MADISON, Wis. — If you’re planning to eat any white bass that was caught in many of Dane County’s waterways, the DNR says you should limit it to one meal per month after a sample from Lake Kegonsa came back showing elevated levels of PFAS.
The Wisconsin DNR and Department of Health Services issued an updated fish consumption advisory for parts of the Yahara River chain in Dane County after the DNR found elevated levels of PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) — a type of PFAS “forever chemicals” — in white bass taken from Lake Kengsona.
The new advisory applies for white bass caught from Wingra Creek, Lake Monona, Lake Waubesa, Upper and Lower Mud Lake, Lake Kegonsa, and the Yahara River downstream to where it meets the Rock River and is on top of a previous fish consumption advisory issued in 2021 after PFAS were found in fish that were sampled in 2020.
The new advisory adds white bass to the previous list of fish the DNR and DHS say should be limited to one meal per month, which includes crappie, largemouth bass, northern pike, and walleye. The advisory also recommends limiting the consumption of bluegill, pumpkinseed, and yellow perch to one meal per week.
If you have questions about which types of fish are considered safe to eat, you can find a full list of consumption advisories across the state on the DNR’s website.
This is the latest instance of PFAS being found in fish from Madison-area waterways, which were first detected in water chemistry and fish tissue samples from Starkweather Creek in 2019. At that time, Starkweather Creek had the highest concentration of PFOA and PFOS in samples that were taken statewide.
According to the DNR, eating contaminated fish is one of the main ways humans are exposed to PFAS.
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
