BILLINGS, Mont. — Fish harvested from part of the Yellowstone River might not be safe for consumption, according to an advisory issued by multiple Montana agencies Tuesday.
Various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in the river from Indian Fort Fishing Access Site near Reed Point to the Highway 212 bridge in Laurel. The advisory was issued by the Fish Consumption Advisory Board, which includes representatives from the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services, Montana Department of Environmental Quality and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP).
The advisory applies to all fish species present in the river, both game and nongame.
The June 24 train derailment from the Twin Bridges Road railroad bridge is a potential source of these PAHs, though the agencies emphasized that their source has not been determined officially. Ten train cars ended up in the river, carrying asphalt, molten sulfur and rock.
The spill occurred downstream from Yellowstone National Park.
Following the incident, FWP crews tested rainbow trout and mountain whitefish near the site, yielding detection of elevated levels of phenanthrene in mountain whitefish. A whitefish consumption advisory was issued on Aug. 11, and FWP was motivated to conduct further sampling.
Recent sampling studied longnose suckers, shorthead redhorse, rainbow trout, brown trout and mountain whitefish. According to the agencies, multiple species demonstrated levels of various PAHs including naphthalene. Mountain whitefish demonstrated levels of 1- and 2-methylnapthalene and acenaphthylene. Phenanthrene was not found in any fish in recent samples.
The advisory also notes that migrating fish species like brown and rainbow trout might travel beyond the specified borders of the specific advisory, and thus should probably be avoided.
“Out of an abundance of precaution and unknown conditions in adjacent sections of the river, those with specific concerns may want to avoid consuming all species of fish from the Yellowstone River at any location until more is known on the severity and prevalence of this contamination,” the agencies said in their press release.
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have classified naphthalene, 1-methylnaphthalene and 2-methylnaphthalene as possibly cancer-causing in humans,” the release said. “Other health effects from ingesting high levels of PAHs that have been shown in animal studies include effects on the gastrointestinal system, immune system, reproductive system, kidneys and skin. These effects from eating fish have not been recorded in humans.”
The agencies are devising plans for additional sampling on the river, testing fish farther upstream and farther downstream of the derailment site.
