Tuesday, December 2, 2003

JEREMIAH STETTLER
THE SAGINAW NEWS

Dioxin pollution threatens the reproduction of fish-eating birds, mink and river otters along the Tittabawassee River, a state report has concluded.

The Department of Environmental Quality announced Monday that it has posted online a 58-page report that claims dioxin, a byproduct of chlorine manufacturing discharged by Dow Chemical Co. in Midland, has put fish-eating animals at risk for low fertility and higher rates of embryo death.

Dow officials disputed the report, which is available at www.michigan.gov/tittabawassee.

The report shows dioxin levels in carp, catfish, shad and smallmouth bass that rise 200 times higher than what scientific literature deems "safe" for avoiding reproductive problems in fish-eating birds.

The levels climb 60 times higher for river otters and mink, the report indicated.

"All the organisms we looked at were exceeding safe levels," said Hector Galbraith, a researcher from the Vermont-based Galbraith Environmental Sciences that conducted the study, "and many by much more."

Galbraith's study was presented for the first time in October to a citizens advisory panel. Since then, Dow also has collected deer, turkeys and rabbits for a separate study on game animals in the floodplain. The study will identify dioxin levels in the edible portions of those animals. Dow plans to release the results this spring.

Patricia Spitzley, a spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Quality, said Galbraith's data is a "useful guide" for developing a clean-up plan along the Tittabawassee River.

"This gives us a clear snapshot of the extent of contamination," she said.

But Dow officials say the report paints a "worst possible case scenario" of the dioxin problem without providing a large enough sample group -- 85 fish and the eggs of five wood ducks and four hooded mergansers -- to draw any meaningful conclusions.

Dow spokeswoman Sarah Opperman also criticized researchers for taking no samples of mink or river otter. The study based its results instead on dioxin levels found in fish -- which are a staple of the animals' diets.

"Under EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) guidelines, this is a preliminary screening level study," Opperman said. "This is not a study that provides a basis for making decisions about clean-up."

Opperman cited bald eagle nesting data collected by William Bowerman, a Clemson University environmental toxicologist in Clemson, S.C., that she said contradicts Galbraith's findings.

The study shows a rise in the number of bald eagle nests along the Tittabawassee River between 1985 and 1999. The nests have climbed to 21 in 1999, compared to three in 1985.

Opperman questioned how the nests are increasing if fish-eating animals are suffering reproductive problems.

Opperman also released fish samples, taken downstream from Dow, that show a decline in dioxin levels for walleye and carp.

Concentrations of the toxin are less than 2 parts per trillion in walleye fillets, compared to 3 parts per trillion in 1983, she said. Levels also declined in carp to less than 10 parts per trillion from 40 parts per trillion in 1990.

Opperman said Dow will file a written response with the Department of Environmental Quality by year-end, challenging the study's assumptions and findings.

Spitzley stands behind the research.

"We are aware of how Dow views the study," she said. "But we are confident that our studies are representative of what is happening along the floodplain." t

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

© 2003 Saginaw News.