Funding Program: Contaminant Biology

Statement of Problem: As a consequence of industrialization and human population growth in Missouri, a number of pollutants have been found in tissues of Missouri¿s fish. In response, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) developed a contaminant monitoring program to examine the levels of environmental contaminants in fish. These data have been used in a variety of ways. The most prominent use of this data has been by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to determine if there is a need for a fish consumption advisory for people who consume sport-caught fish in Missouri. A second use has been a more general assessment of the level of contamination of Missouri¿s fish and streams and the potential risk to our aquatic and wildlife resources. MDC reports on levels of contaminants in fish have been issued for 1985 (McGrath, 1988a), 1986 (McGrath, 1988b), 1987 (Czarnezki, 1989), 1984-1988 (Presley, et al., 1989), 1994 (Buchanan, 1995), 2000 (Bataille, 2001) and 2001 (Bataille, 2003) and are available by contacting the Contaminant Specialist at the Resource Science Center, 1110 S. College Avenue, Columbia, MO 65201. To date, site selection, sampling design, fish collection methods, data analysis and quality control have been described in different places and at varying levels of detail. The purpose of this document is to provide a generic description of the MDC contaminant monitoring program that can be referenced in the planning phase for subsequent specific annual monitoring plans. Through the years, the MDC contaminant program has relied on several analytical laboratories to conduct the contaminant analysis in fish. For the purpose of this generic document we will reference the most recent analytical laboratory used by MDC so that the methods will the most current. Currently, MDC is in a Cooperative Agreement with the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Laboratory (CERC). CERC has extensive abilities in analytical chemistry and expertise in fish monitoring and a partnership between the two organizations is the most efficient way to collect this monitoring information. 

Objectives: The fundamental design of the State of Missouri program is to annually select a predatory and bottom-dwelling species from each of 20-30 water bodies (lakes and streams) across Missouri and to characterize the concentrations of pesticides and PCBs. As part of this collaborative study, concentrations of PBDE flame retardants are for the first time being measured to to track their concentrations in Missouri fish. Fillet samples from the fish are analyzed because of the desire to simulate what the public might be exposed to if they consume the fish. Similarly, the program focuses on composite samples of several fish to better simulate average human exposures using a single sample analysis. The number of fish used in a sample has varied over the years from individual fish to composites of up to 20 fish. Currently, the MDC program utilizes composites of 5 fish in a single sample. The replication of samples at a site has also varied considerably over the program¿s history. Currently, the MDC program recommends replicating samples 3 times at each site for a total of 15 fish per species per site.