SALT LAKE CITY — Weber County's Causey Reservoir, Minersville Reservoir in Beaver County and Navajo Lake in Kane County are the latest additions to an advisory on consumption of certain fish due to levels of mercury.
Mercury, although a naturally occurring element, can be transformed into methyl mercury, a toxic form found in some natural waters.
Populations most vulnerable to the effects of mercury toxicity include women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children. Chronic exposure to low concentrations of methyl mercury may result in neurological effects in the developing fetus and children.
Brown trout at Causey are new on the list, as are wiper in Minersville and splake trout at Navajo Lake.
Pregnant women should avoid consumption of any of these fish from these waters, while women who may become pregnant and children 6 to 16 should limit consumption of Causey brown trout to two 8-ounce servings per month and the other recently impacted species to one 8-ounce serving per month.
Everyone else, according to state officials, should limit intake of the Causey brown trout to six 8-ounce servings a month and the other affected species to five 8-ounce servings a month.
An 8-ounce serving of fish is equivalent to the size of two decks of playing cards. According to an analysis completed by the Utah Department of Health, eating more than the amounts noted in the advisories over a long period of time could result in an intake of mercury that exceeds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency health recommendations.
The health risks associated with eating fish from the fish advisory areas stem from long-term consumption, not from eating fish occasionally. The American Heart Association, in a nod to how important fish are to a healthy diet, recommends people eat at least two fish or seafood meals weekly.
There are no other health risks associated with mercury in the water for other uses of the waterways, such as swimming, boating and waterskiing.
The fish mercury testing program over time has involved testing hundreds of water bodies. Fewer than 10 percent of the tested waters in Utah have had fish with elevated levels of mercury in their tissue.
Utah fish consumption advisories are issued in partnership between the Utah Department of Health, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, and the Utah Department of Natural Resources.
More information is available onlineat the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.