OHA issues health advisory for Multnomah Channel and Scappoose Bay resident fish, shellfish and crayfish, Dec. 9

Agency recommends limited meal sizes due to high levels of PCBs, dioxins and furans found in fish and shellfish tissue. OHA release – PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon Health Authority is issuing recommendations on the amount of resident fish, shellfish and crayfish from the Multnomah Channel and Scappoose Bay that people should eat. Fish tissue data that Oregon Department of Environmental Quality collected show high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and dioxins and furans in resident fish, shellfish and crayfish in Multnomah Channel and Scappoose Bay. Meal recommendations are needed, according to public health officials. Multnomah Channel is a 21.5-mile branch of the Willamette River in Portland. The channel flows northerly next to the west side of Sauvie Island until it meets the Columbia River near St. Helens in Columbia County. Scappoose Bay, near St. Helens, includes former and current industrial sites that have contributed to contaminant concentrations in the bay.