by Jean Hudson, KUAM News Monday, February 20, 2006 E-mail this article Printable version KUAM Toolbar Web Widgets Get RSS headlines

If you have ever consumed fish caught in or near the Cocos Lagoon in Merizo, be advised: a fish consumption advisory has been issued. Preliminary results from fish tissue sampling from the lagoon indicate high levels of PCB. The Guam Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Public Health, along with U.S. Coast Guard officials announced in a press conference this afternoon that the PCB contamination is suspected to have come from the former USCG long-range navigation station operated from 1944 to 1963 on Cocos Island.

Coast Guard Captain William Marhoffer told KUAM News, "This environmental study is being conducted by the Coast Guard's Civil Engineering Unit based in Honolulu. They did an initial survey last year as we are doing at former long-range navigation stations around the world...PCBs were commonly used in some of the equipment used in these stations in decades past. The station on Cocos Island has been decommissioned out of service. In fact, there's nothing left"

Rande Sablan, administrator of the Guam EPA, added, "This advisory doesn't say that you can't swim or conduct activities in the marine environment, that's not a problem. Even as far as fishing, like catch and release, or sports fishing, that's fine. There's no restriction or advisory to not doing this activities."

And Public Health epidemiologist Dr. Robert Haddock with "Theoretically there is some statistical risk of developing cancer, but probably very small. It would only occur in people that ate a lot of fish every week from that area."

Officials say there is not enough information as of yet to close Cocos Lagoon to fishing at this time, as additional studies will be conducted to narrow down the geographic range that may be contaminated. Officials are expected to meet with Merizo residents next week to discuss the contamination issue.