As the expression goes, you are what you eat. Which is why Oregon state agencies and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have issued warnings to limit or avoid fish consumption from some state rivers. The level of toxins and pollutants in Oregon’s waters were high enough that the EPA has deemed some areas as “unacceptable.”

EPA: OREGON’S COLUMBIA RIVER HAS ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ LEVEL OF TOXINS

The Columbia River, Photo by pfly on Flickr through Creative Commons

• “[On January 15, 2009] the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued its first comprehensive report on toxic pollution in the Columbia River…, concluding that river contamination poses an ‘unacceptable rick’ to people, fish, and wildlife.”
• “The EPA report, years in the making, compiled existing information on four contaminants. Decades after it was banned, the pesticide DDT is still showing up at levels harmful to humans in fish near agricultural areas throughout the basin, the report says.”
• “There are many other contaminants in the river, the EPA said, including arsenic, dioxins, radiation, currently used pesticides, industrial chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. The agency said it plans to address those pollutants in future work.”

(Click here for the original article)

As a reporter and a journalism student living in Eugene, Oregon, you can imagine the chills I got along my spine when I stumbled across this information:

Close to Home: High Levels of Chemicals in the Emerald Valley’s Willamette River

Oregon’s Willamette River, Photo by functoruser on Flickr through Creative Commons

• “The 2008 Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Toxins Monitoring Annual Report found high levels of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish in the Willamette River near Eugene/Springfield. It isn’t clear where those chemicals are coming from.”
• “PCBs were banned in the 1970s. They have been shown to cause cancer, affect reproductive and immune systems, have neurological affects including impairment of visual recognition, short-term memory and learning, and to be endocrine disruptors, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.”
• Karl Morgenstern, drinking water source protection coordinator water for EWEB, says that though Eugene’s drinking water doesn’t come from the Willamette, EWEB also saw the DEQ’s report and has questions and concerns about the data.”
• “The Oregon Department of Human Services has a long-posted advisory letting people know that eating ‘resident fish’ (as opposed to migratory fish such as salmon) in the mainstream of the Willamette should be limited due to PCBs and mercury. The state warms that kids under 6 shouldn’t eat more than one resident fish meal every six months.”

(Click here for the original article) 

You can probably guess the problems of dirty rivers are not only limited to Oregon. In fact, water contamination is a significant concern for much of the country. Needless to say, the activities of corporate farming and industrial pollution only exacerbate the situation. In the United States, some waters have been deemed so contaminated even swimming is risky.

Half of USA’s Lakes & Rivers Too Contaminated for Swimming

Photo from Diego Cupolo on Flickr through Creative Commons

• “A new report by [Environment America] reveals that half of America’s rivers and lakes are too polluted to safely swim in, part of the damage from industrial facilities using the nation’s waterways as a dumping ground for 232 millions pounds of toxic chemicals. [The] report found toxic chemicals were discharged into 1,900 waterways across the nation’s 50 states.”
• “Indiana topped the nation with over 27 million pounds of toxic chemicals dumped into the state’s waterways in 2007.”
• “The top three waterways in the nation for most total toxic chemicals discharged in 2007 were the Ohio River, New River, and Mississippi River. The Ohio River also topped the nation for toxic chemicals that are cancer causing and chemicals that cause reproductive disorders. The Alabama River had the highest amount of toxic chemicals causing developmental disorders in the nation in 2007.”

Environment America’s Recommendations to Restore our Rivers:

Photo by bjornmeansbear on Flickr through Creative Commons

• “Pollution Prevention: Industrial facilities should reduce their toxic discharges into waterways by switching from hazardous chemicals to safer alternatives.”
• “Tough permitting and enforcement: EPA and state agencies should issue permits with tough, numeric limits for each type of toxic pollution discharged, ratchet down those limits over time, and enforce those limits with credible penalties, not just warning letters.”
• “Protect all waters: The federal government should adopt policies to clarify that the Clean Water Act applies to all of our waterways. This includes the thousands of headwaters and small streams for which jurisdiction under Clean Water Act has been called into question, as a result of recent court decisions.:” 
(Click here for the original article) 

Besides demanding more state and governmental regulation, it’s in our best interest to take a more active approach in dealing with issues of water contamination. After all, these are problems have direct consequences for most citizens, who live nearby streams and waterways. Below are just a few of the many resources to consider in our effort to cleanse America’s toxic veins:

Get Involved:

Photo by Water Watch on Flickr through Creative Commons

• Since 1991 American Rivers has mobilized more than 600,000 volunteers. In a national effort, participants all across the country have managed to cover more than 100,000 miles of U.S. waterways. These efforts have removed more than 1,000 tons of litter and debris from our waterways, according to the organization’s website.
• River Restoration Northwest (RRNW) is a Corvallis, Oregon-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting sustainable river restoration projects through technology and science. The organization also focuses on professional development for those who wish to pursue a career in restoration. By providing a forum for fisheries, biologists, wetlands engineers, and others from related fields to interact, RRNW takes an integrative approach on river restoration. 
• Watch a fabulous video on How to Organize a River Cleanup: