Saturday, May 07, 2005 JEREMIAH STETTLER THE SAGINAW NEWS

Federal health officials have endorsed a wild game advisory that urges hunters to stay away from certain meats taken along the Tittabawassee River because of dioxin contamination.

The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry confirmed this week that eating turkey meat, with or without skin, and the liver of white-tailed deer taken downstream of Dow Chemical Co. presents a "public health hazard."

The agency also warned pregnant women and children younger than 15 to limit consumption of deer and squirrel meat to one meal a week.

Officials say dioxin poses a legitimate health threat, as recognized by a wild game advisory issued last fall by four state agencies: the Department of Community Health, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Division of Natural Resources.

Dow officials received the report late Friday and said they could not comment until they had reviewed the document.

The advisory is based on the results of a wild game study conducted by Dow to determine whether deer, turkey and squirrels are a pathway for dioxin into the human population.

Researchers found that dioxin levels in deer meat were seven times higher downstream of Dow than in animals upstream. Levels were 118 times higher in deer liver, 66 times higher in turkey and 40 times higher in squirrels.

If residents choose to hunt and consume those animals, state officials advise them to trim away any fat before cooking; to avoid organ meats, such as liver or brains; and to stay away from the skin.v

Jeremiah Stettler is a staff writer at the Saginaw News. You may reach him at 776-9685.

© 2005 Saginaw News.

For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawassee River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.