Why Washington should protect human health with new limits on toxic pollution
By Brett VandenHeuvel, Executive Director, Columbia Riverkeeper
Now that my one-year-old has a few teeth, he can eat salmon like you wouldn’t believe. He loves it. Our family eats Columbia River salmon about once a week, especially in the summertime. I catch a few (very few) and buy fresh from Native American fishermen here in the Gorge. Washington’s limits on discharging toxic pollution assume people only eat 6.5 grams per day. That’s 0.014 pounds of fish, barely a nibble. As a result, Washington’s clean water laws aren’t designed to protect people who regularly eat fish or shellfish.
Washington, I’m embarrassed to say, has the nation’s weakest “fish consumption rate,” which controls the amount of pollution allowed in the Columbia River, Puget Sound, and all of our waterways. Under the Clean Water Act, the theory goes that if your state’s residents eat few fish, then industry can dump a lot of pollution into the water. If people eat a lot of fish, industry can dump less.
In July 2014 Washington State Governor Jay Inslee announced plans for a radical loophole. Inslee is proposing a high fish consumption rate—175 grams per day—but playing math tricks. Under Inslee’s plan, Washington would raise its acceptable cancer risk from 1 in a million people to 1 in 100,000 people. In other words, create a state policy to let cancer ravage 10 times more people than the law currently allows. It stuns me that a progressive state would tolerate this injustice. The slogan “Cancer Risk, We Don’t Care” would not work well at the Pike Place Market or Vancouver restaurants.
Oregon, to its credit, decided to protect its residents by increasing Oregon’s fish-consumption rate to 175 grams per day, 2500% more protective than Washington. There are numerous studies showing that Washingtonians eat a lot of fish, particularly Native Americans. Fishermen, crabbers, localvores, foodies, and my one-year-old all consume more than 6.5 grams per day. Isn’t it time for Washington to limit toxic pollution so we are not sacrificing their health?
Industrial polluters caution against catching up with Oregon and call the fish consumption rate “an arbitrary number.” As a Clean Water Act expert who understands the direct connection between the fish-consumption rate and the amount of toxic pollution going into our river, I know this is wrong. As a father serving my kid salmon tonight, I am deeply disturbed that politics and greed are interfering with science and human health.
To save face, Governor Inslee is also promising to back legislation that will take toxics out of consumer products. Great idea. But the promise of legislation can’t mask the reality: the Governor has an opportunity to limit cancer-causing toxic pollution right now. And he’s passing the buck.
We can do better than industry loopholes. It’s time to get to work on reducing toxic pollution. Washington is a state of innovators. Today, Governor Inslee has the opportunity to reduce toxic pollution and stand up for Washingtonians. It’s the right thing to do.
Take Action Today!
Tell Washington leaders to make healthy fish a priority in our state by adopting accurate water quality standards to reduce toxic pollution. Reject industry loopholes. Call Governor Inslee at 360.902.4111 and Ecology Director Maia Bellon at 360.407.7001. For more info check out our “Toxic-free Fish Campaign” page.
