02:36 PM PDT on Wednesday, August 3, 2005

KING5.com Staff Reports

EPA File photo

Aerial view of the Lower Duwamish River near Seattle.

Washington’s Department of Health has issued a warning against eating fish or crab caught in the lower Duwamish Waterway. According to the Department, recent testing shows a higher level of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination than previously seen.

PCB’s are known to cause immune system problems and learning deficits in children exposed in the womb, so the Department said this warning is important for women who are expecting or plan to have children.

“People should continue eating fish because fish are a healthy, low-fat source of protein,” the department’s community outreach educator Marcia Henning said in a news release. “However, they should not eat shellfish, crab or resident fish caught in the Duwamish.”

Included in the testing were fish such as perch, flounder, English sole and crab caught in the lower Duwamish River. The department did not include salmon in its warning because salmon are migratory and spend only a short time in the river.

Health officials said they are planning an extensive community outreach effort among communities that fish in the Duwamish River, including Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants.