Fish Mercury Project

The Fish Mercury Project (FMP) is a collaborative effort to conduct monitoring of mercury in fish, assess the health risk and benefits of fish, and communicate this information to affected populations. FMP is led by the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI), along with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEEHA), Department of Fish and Game (DFG), UC Davis, and California Department of Public Health (CDPH). The FMP is unique because it relies heavily on stakeholders to guide all aspect of the project. These stakeholders, who include county agencies and community groups, have been essential to the success of this project.

The FMP began in 2004 to examine mercury in fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed and to increase public awareness of fish risks and benefits, with the overall goal of reducing human exposure to mercury. Fish contamination is a serious environmental and public health concern in the watershed, which encompasses the Delta, the Sacramento River up to Lake Shasta, and the San Joaquin River to Millerton Lake near Fresno. Fishing is a very popular activity throughout this area yet mercury can accumulate in fish at levels that may pose neurological health risks to people who consume the fish. Mercury is prevalent in the watershed due primarily to historic gold and mercury mining. Once mercury enters an aquatic system, bacteria convert it into a highly toxic form that is readily accumulated by fish and other organisms. While fish are generally a healthy food, concerns over mercury remain.

The major objectives of the project are to:

Characterize spatial patterns and temporal trends in methylmercury in fish in the watershed.
Assess health risks of consuming contaminated fish and communicate these risks to appropriate target audiences based on environmental justice principles.
Demonstrate the use of biosentinel species to link ecosystem restoration, contaminant clean-up, and other landscape changes with spatial and temporal patterns in food web mercury.
Establish a stakeholder advisory group to facilitate stakeholder input into the monitoring and risk communication activities based on environmental justice principles.

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Forum Context and Environment

On Wednesday, November 7th, 2007, a group of 80 public health practitioners, scientists, community groups, educators, and activists working on issues related to fish mercury contamination gathered at the Sierra Health Foundation in Sacramento to discuss the work they have been doing, deepen their knowledge and understanding of agency and community projects, and talk about continued efforts and new collaborations. This was the second forum coordinated and hosted through the efforts of the FMP. Download Attachment A.

The forum was planned and implemented with ongoing input and support from local stakeholders. It was held at the Sierra Health Foundation located on the Sacramento River and with an outdoor area where attendees ate lunch and shared ideas during free time. One main room was used for all large-group meetings, and three smaller rooms for individual workshops. The large hallway and entrance provided a venue where attendees displayed their organization’s work through posters and informational literature. Download Attachment B to view a description of the work showcased in the hallway. Almost half of the forum attendees were new to FMP, which allowed for the intermingling of new ideas with already strong and established projects. Attendees reported a high level of satisfaction with the forum. Download Attachment C to view the final list of forum attendees and download Attachment D to view forum evaluation results.

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Welcome & Introductions

Rick Kreutzer, chief of the Environmental Health Investigations Branch (EHIB) at CDPH, introduced the day’s activities and provided a brief background of the FMP. He highlighted past FMP activities as well as the ongoing efforts to address health concerns around mercury in fish in the Delta and Central Valley. He acknowledged Jay Davis’s leadership in bringing CDPH and OEHHA into the project, and emphasized that stakeholders have been essential to the success of the project – with FMP work taking place at the agency, county, and community levels. He drew attention to the timeline posted on the wall and informed the audience of the “bridge” exercise to take place at the end of the day. Dr. Kreutzer highlighted four goals for the forum:

Encourage collaboration and networking. The forum audience included representatives from many diverse groups and organizations, and he encouraged everyone to take the time to share ideas.
Provide opportunities for learning and skill building on fish issues by sharing information on a variety of topics in presentations and workshops.
Think about what is important to continue addressing fish issues regionally and how best to reach out to local communities.
Celebrate the many accomplishments FMP has made and acknowledge some of the people and groups who’ve contributed.

During this introduction, Sierra Health Foundation representative Jacque Gergusten, took a few minutes to talk about the Foundation’s work in private philanthropy in 26 countries. She highlighted that the Sierra Health Foundation conference facility is available to the public and 501c3 non-profits working on public health issues. She also emphasized that there is no charge for the space and they provide snacks and services for free.

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Keynote Address: Community Engagement and Collaboration

Running-Grass, professional outdoor and environmental educator who founded the Three Circles Center, gave the keynote address. Download Attachment E, to view more information about Running Gras and Three Circles Center. He greeted the audience as community builders and circle builders; people whose work is about healing. He challenged each person in the audience to work together toward Multicultural Environmental Education (MEE) and Environmental Justice. He acknowledged the challenge to expand definitions of working together as a community to allow for personal change – “if your work is not changing you, then it’s not changing those that you are working for.”

Highlights from Running Grass’s talk:

The Environmental Justice movement is taking its rightful place in issues around health and the environment. It is a myth that people and communities are too busy to be interested in environmental issues.
Inclusive outreach acknowledges that there are different informational needs of different people; this contradicts the idea that we provide the same service to everyone from a sense of equity.
Traditional environmental education does not account for the constant demographic shifts in California. It is important to recognize that a message is irrelevant if it doesn’t work within the context of the culture and the community it is intended to serve.
MEE principles contend that ecosystem health and the health of communities are interrelated.
MEE envisions a multicultural society at peace with itself and at peace with the world.
It is a worthwhile challenge to encourage multicultural communities to come together across differences and be able to collectively address issues of concern. Education, outreach, and in-reach are important in transforming such communities and agencies to work together collectively. In order to do this successfully, it is important to affirm diversity and know our own histories.
Science is important to frame the problem and frame the corresponding mission of the larger civic project.

Audience Reflections:

Racism is an issue in the Delta and Central Valley. The experience of racism and perception of racism are challenges that agencies have to deal with.
Relationship building takes time – there is a lot of history to be aware of and to overcome.
Environmental movement should not be subject to race, color, or creed.
Native people struggle with not being able to eat fish after learning about contamination.
We treat others as we treat the environment; this principle has been helpful in doing work.

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Community Perspectives on Addressing Fish Contamination

Illinisa Hendrickson, Health Educator at CDPH and FMP team member, moderated Panel 1: Community Perspectives on Addressing Fish Contamination. She started the panel by acknowledging community based organization (CBO) participation in FMP outreach, attending LSAG meetings, and creating linguistic and culturally appropriate educational materials. Through FMP, CDPH has funded 10 CBO’s via mini-grants.

California Amer-Asian Resource Education (CARE)

Catherine Yang presented on behalf of CARE, a Fresno-based CBO that provides support and services to Southeast Asian populations. CARE was formed primarily to educate the Southeast Asian population on issues specific to their culture. It spends much of its time translating education materials into Southeast Asian languages. It works with the Department of Forestry and other agencies. It also provides a Hunter’s Safety Course, which educates the Southeast Asian community about local hunting safety. Ms. Yang’s speech touched on the following points:

This population was not able to live off of the land in Asia. In the United States, there is a movement among the Southeast Asian people to return to the land.
This population does not practice catch and release, and fish consumption is very high.
Feedback from CARE trainings illustrates that most of the population do not understand the advisories.
There are diverse responses to fish mercury education: some people report that they will not change their behavior, others consider making changes, and others make changes immediately.
We are a small organization focusing on Hmong people; we want to expand into the Lao and Khmer communities.
It is critical to continue to work with agencies - doing outreach generates more interest.
The greatest challenge is to get resources for expanding education and making educational materials. It’s also challenging to consistently bring the community into the process.

California Indian Environmental Alliance (CIEA)

Sherri Norris, Executive Director of CIEA, presented in behalf of this Berkeley-based CBO. Its mission is to protect and restore indigenous peoples’ culture, traditions, and environmental health. Its priority has been to get information out to the communities and to look for opportunities for collaboration. Ms. Norris’s speech touched on the following points:

Culturally-appropriate educational materials are very important.
Coalition building and restoration efforts are good examples of building on interest and leadership that already exists in the community.
Discussion and brainstorming is important to the development of strategies to address community needs. All educational materials should have a space on them for local and regional contact information.
ribes speak for themselves and decide for themselves. We provide them with information about fish mercury contamination and they decide what to do with this information.

United Cambodian Families (UCF)

Lim Leang presented on behalf UCF, a Stockton-based CBO that helps the Cambodian community to find practical solutions to social issues, helps children succeed in school, and trains leaders to become forces for positive change. To view Lim Leang’s PowerPoint presentation, download Attachment F. Presentation highlights and audience reflection:

Historically, fish has been the main source of food for the Khmer population. Khmer people are surprised that the fish are contaminated because the water looks clean - in Cambodia the water looked like chocolate milk and there was no mention of contamination.
Cambodians in Rio Vista have no awareness of fish contamination issues and they fish a lot.
UCF collaborates with U.C. Extension and local health departments to conduct Fish and Nutrition Cooking Classes.
A map is a useful tool to help individuals identify where they fish.
Seniors are the most influential in the Cambodian communities.
UCF has a website that is targeted at younger populations. We have found that young people take this information and share it with their families,.

Ecovillage Farm Learning Center

Shyaam Shabaka, Director of Ecovillage, presented on behalf of this Richmond-based CBO that believes in environmental health, education, social justice, horticulture, watershed protection, and community-building. It works with youth as lay community health educators. They go into the community to do outreach, and also to the areas where people fish. This program provides an opportunity for youth to work in the community, and to learn more about the science of the fish mercury contamination. Mr. Shabaka’s speech touched on the following points:

There is no substitute for continuous interaction with communities by those that the community trusts.
People think they can tell if there’s mercury in the water and in the fish. And most people do not want to change their behavior.
The Delta signs have not been effective in the places where Ecovillage has posted them. Of the 25 signs posted, most have been torn down. People’s perceptions of the signs are that they are a requirement or a threat.
There needs to be more funding in order for mini-grants to do effective engagement.
People fish mostly for recreational purposes and to get away from stress.
Ecovillage Farm Learning Center website link

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Agency work, progress, and plans for the future

Diana Lee, Research Scientist with EHIB at CDPH, moderated Panel 2: Agency Work, Progress, and Plans for the Future. Diana started off by introducing the various agencies that have participated in FMP projects, and asked that all questions and discussion be held to the end

California Department of Public Health, Environmental Investigations Branch (CDPH-EHIB)

May Lynn Tan, Project Coordinator and Health Educator at CDPH, spoke about the achievements in outreach and education through stakeholder partnerships. CDPH had been working with the FMP to build links to community groups, encourage collaboration, conduct evaluations of advisories, and to provide minigrants to community groups. Download Attachment G to view Ms. Tan’s PowerPoint presentation. Presentation highlights and audience reflection:

CDPH has been successful in its efforts to convene the Local Stakeholders Advisory Group (LSAG), which is a group of stakeholders from the following counties: Sacramento, San Joaquin, Contra Costa, Yolo, and Solano. Participants in this group are representative of state agencies, county governments, local governments, community groups, non-profits, and academia. Meetings happen quarterly and discussion topics range from advisory input to research feedback. CDPH provides a stipend and reimburses travel for all community groups.
Working with the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program (FSNEP) has been a good way to outreach to many people. Through projects such as Train-the-Trainer, CDPH has successfully worked with FSNEP to educate a large population about he benefits and risks of eating fish.
Through Delta Health Care (DHC), a Stockton-based women, infants, and children’s clinic (WIC), CDPH was able to test a low-literacy brochure and tailor information in a way that is most helpful to low-literacy women.
Through surveys to evaluate and measure changes in fish consumption as a result of FMP efforts, CDPH has found that some people report a change in behavior and some do not. It is unclear what the reason is for those who change their behavior and those that do not. Through continued and rigorous qualitative research, CDPH is looking more closely at the reasons for behavioral change. To do this work, CDPH is conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups of a wide range of people who consume sport fish. The findings from this research are intended to inform the next advisory. If the new advisory format is ready by the next LSAG meeting in April 08, CDPH will present it and get input from stakeholders

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI)

Jay Davis, Environmental Scientist at SFEI and the Principal Investigator of FMP, talked about preliminary results from the FMP. Download Attachment H to view Dr. Davis’s PowerPoint presentation. Presentation highlights and audience reflections:

Media has picked up on the story of fish contamination and the Chronicle has ran a front page article.
Data from 2005 sampling is located in the fact sheet . In 2006 some of the concentrations of the largemouth bass were higher than in 2005
The question of whether lakes should be on the 303D list is in the process of being answered.
We aren’t far along in fully understanding how wetland restoration affects mercury levels, or knowing strategies to reduce mercury. We need to continue monitoring mercury at restoration projects.
Monitoring Stats: Largemouth bass was found in most locations and tend to be high in mercury – it is the species caught most frequently in monitoring efforts. Sunfish tend to be low in mercury. Striped Bass and Sturgeon are migratory which makes them hard to catch for sampling. SFEI has done some targeted sampling of these fish but the samples have not been processed. These species tend to be high in mercury. Trout and salmon tend to be low in mercury.

Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)

Robert K. Brodberg, Senior Toxicologist and Chief of Fish Water Quality Evaluation Section at OEHHA, presented on creating advisories using community feedback and nutritional considerations.Download Attachment I to view Dr. Brodberg’s PowerPoint presentation. Presentation highlights and audience reflections:

Rivers with the highest levels of mercury were targets during testing.
Accomplishments: additional outreach and communication with stakeholders.
Advisory Format: people have provided feedback and we have learned that the information in our advisories is confusing and too detailed. People just don’t understand. We are working on making improvements.
2007 Advisories: Dropped the meal a month advice because it is impossible to encourage proper nutrition with such limited fish consumption.
The new Safe Eating Guideline format will be peer-reviewed. Focus groups will provide some feedback and we can also get input from the advisory workshop.

Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB)

Janis Cooke, Environmental Scientist at RWQCB, talked about water quality objectives, stakeholder input, and board response. RWQCB is developing a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and implementation plan to reduce mercury in Delta fish. Download Attachment J to view Dr. Cooke’s PowerPoint presentation. Presentation highlights and audience reflections:

The amount of mercury intake is what people are eating; we need to consider what consumption rate would be the most protective of the public’s health.
Central Delta currently has acceptable mercury levels.
The board is very interested in community input. There are individual board members that are really concerned about community issues. They want to know who eats fish and how much they eat.
RWQCB hopes that the TMDL process can provide funding to support community outreach and education. A little bit has been provided for strategic planning. Decision makers need to hear from outside groups, not just the RWQCB staff.
There are questions about how much mercury comes from natural sources vs. non-natural sources. For example, in Cache Creek, 30% is from natural sources. The total poundage is unknown but this is something that can be looked into. About 900 lbs of inorganic mercury get into the Delta from Cache Creek.
To receive notification about upcoming hearings, sign up to the Water Board’s listserve to get notices about the upcoming hearing.

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Workshops

I. Research Findings: What We Know about Consumers of Delta Fish

Alyce Ujihara, Research Scientist and Program Manager at CDPH, presented preliminary findings from the advisory evaluation that is currently under way. A total of 46 forum attendees attended this workshop. Download Attachment K to view Ms. Ujihara’s PowerPoint presentation.

Workshop Q & A’s:

Q: What are other sources of Hg levels in the body besides fish? A: None that Alyce is aware of, except possibly sources of inorganic Hg from dental amalgams.
Q: Are elevated levels related to consumption of certain species? A: Yes, we expect that elevated levels are related to some species but further analysis is needed to determine which species.
Q: What was the reaction of women? A: This was a risk-averse population, so they were very concerned and motivated.
Q: It seems like whites have more knowledge than African American or Latina women. A: More work is needed to educate non-white populations.
Q: Does age affect knowledge? A: Yes, knowledge increases with age. We have data about this but they were not presented.
Q: Did you retest blood levels after education? A: Yes, we retested blood levels for all those with elevated bloods. Some were lost to follow up, but the majority of the blood levels were lower at the second test.
Q: How will biomonitoring scale up in the future? A: There may be more biomonitoring through the new state biomonitoring program that includes EHIB, which will could help provide baseline Hg levels to compare to.
Q: Did you find any evidence of health effects from the Brode study? A: No, but we were not looking for them.

Discussion:

It’s important to know survey data. This information helps with advocacy efforts because it presents evidence that there is a problem.
Appropriate vocabulary is very important in risk communication.
The next steps will be to finish the analysis. We hope to integrate findings into CPSP protocol.
Funding CBO’s is the best method for reaching different populations.
Doctors are a trusted source of information; they make the connection to health.

II. Creating Appropriate Advisories: Health Risks &Benefits of Fish

Susan Klasing, Toxicologist for the Fish and Water Quality Evaluation Section at OEHHA, presented a background on the health effects of mercury and the benefits of eating fish, and how these factors influence the development of sport fish advisories in California. Download Attachment L to view Dr. Klasing’s PowerPoint presentation.

Topics covered during this workshop:

An overview of the potential health risks from exposure to mercury
How are different populations impacted
An overview of the health benefits from eating fish
What are advisories and how are they developed in California
How the advisories take into account risks and benefits of fish consumption
What is the process for public review of advisories

III. The Delta Vision and its Impact on Fish and Fishing

Lori Clamurro, Environmental Scientist at the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), and Sergio Guillen, consultant for the Governor’s Delta Vision Process, presented on the different conservation visions of the Delta and the processes needed to arrive at a comprehensive vision for the state. A total of 40 forum attendees attended this workshop.

Lori Clamurro presented on the DFG’s four Conservation Strategies. She said that they will start preparing documentation in early 2009. She gave a handout that included four maps of the strategies and discussed their major points. Download Attachment M to view Ms. Clamurro’s PowerPoint presentation. Mr. Guillen discussed land subsidence and the instability of the region. He said that public comment will be completed by December 1st, 2007 and that a general plan needs to be filed by January 1, 2008. During 2008 the Delta Vision Committee (whose members are already appointed) will fine tune the plans. Download Attachment N to view Mr. Guillen’s PowerPoint presentation.

Workshop participants were frustrated by the lack of public input and had many comments:

How much of the water will go through the peripheral aqueduct? Isn’t Southern California going to make all the work for naught if the amount of water is not capped?
How does Delta Vision link with BDCP?
What is the top priority of the region?
What about water subsidies?
Isn’t the timeline totally off when taking conveyance into consideration?
What about private lands? Billions of tax dollars are going to fix fences!

IV. Grantseeking Basics Part 1 & 2

C. Davis Fischer, Training Coordinator for The Foundation Center, presented an overview of the funding research process for those seeking grants from foundations, corporations, and grant making public charities. This workshop was attended by mostly community groups. Download Attachment O to view Ms. Fischer’s PowerPoint presentation.

Workshop highlights

How a bill becomes law
Understanding the California sate budget process
Restrictions on lobbying by non-profit, tax-exempt organizations
Effective ways of communication with legislatures and their staff

V. Community Based Organizations, Lobbying, and the Legislature

Elizabeth “Izzy” Martin, CEO of the The Sierra Fund, presented on the nuts and bolts of working with the California legislature. Download Attachment P to view Ms. Martin’s PowerPoint presentation.

Workshop highlights:

How a bill becomes law
Understanding the California sate budget process
Restrictions on lobbying by non-profit, tax-exempt organizations
Effective ways of communication with legislatures and their staff

VI. Incorporating Environmental Justice into Fish Contamination Planning

Fraser Shilling, Research Scientist at UC Davis, facilitated this workshop. He was joined by community leaders, LaDonna Williams and Andria Ventura. He has been coordinating the comprehensive North Delta fish consumption study, now expanded to the Bay and South Delta. This workshop discussed emerging roles for community groups - such as information collection for, and decision-making about, fish contamination remediation. Specifically, he talked about how community organizations and others can work together to forge common strategies to deal with cleanup and health protection through alternative dietary habits. He opened with the question:

How do we reduce exposure?

In order to strategize a long-term risk communication, there needs to be funding.
There needs to be some clarity as to if this issue is federal, state, local, or private.
TMDL’s should include the needs of the community. Accountability requires that subsistence fishers communicate their concern.
We must address our state legacy around the contamination issue. We need to look at new and existing sources of mercury. We have to practice exposure reduction. And we need stricter laws that support exposure reduction.
We need to have a review process, consistent approaches, and a regional response.

Comments:

here is a conflicting message that fish is good for you and that fish is not safe to eat. There needs to be fish information in the grocery stores.
It is difficult to tell what water bodies are safe to catch and eat fish from. There’s also concern about fish that are from other countries – are they better or worse than the fish caught locally?
The definition of African American is inconsistent in surveys, because there are many people that come from Africa that aren’t being accounted for.
Environmental Justice shouldn’t be just a side issue for OEHHA - OEHHA is making an effort to be in discussions and work with FMP where there is an effort to address the EJ concerns.
People that produce products that contribute to the Mercury problem need to be educated.
The mini-grants are not enough to accomplish all of the work that needs to be done. Tribal programs are trying to get their own funding to deal with the fish contamination issues.
In the Cambodian community it’s important to mobilize compassion of children and the potential impacts of the fish on their health.

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Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration

The “bridge” exercise brought the days’ events together and moved people into thinking about their plans to continue fish contamination work. Attendees were broken up into three groups representing three general regions of the Delta Watershed. Visuals were used to create regional pictures of current fish mercury work, ideas for the future, and potential collaborations. During this exercise, CDPH facilitators and note takers encouraged networking and collaboration between groups. This exercise had a number of goals, which include:

Increasing knowledge about the activities/efforts planned for the future;
Sharing individual agencies’ visions for the future;
Creating an awareness of a larger, comprehensive vision;
Developing network communication on a regional level;
Understanding regional resources;
Encouraging collaboration.

Findings and feedback from the “bridge” exercise included the following:

Funding is needed to continue fish mercury work
There needs to be continued opportunities to collaborate

Model collaboration from LSAG
Find funding to continue the LSAG

Specific collaborations we also identified

DWR – collaborate w/ Mechoopda, CIEA, SWAMP, and future monitoring efforts
TechLaw – wants to facilitate talking about collaboration
Sherri Norris and Vicki Fry can collaborate on media and schools. Vicki can take the lead, come up with a proposal, and schedule a meeting with the Dept. of Education. She wants community support.
Contra Costa Water Program will collaborate (within region) to take legislative action on ACA 12 (Torlakson)
Lao Family Stockton and UCF to work together on radio outreach
OEHHA would like to collaborate with CARE
SAAC would like to collaborate with UCF
UCD would like to build collaborative links
CIEA would like to expand collaboration with other groups
SFEI would like to help CBOs get $ for outreach

Download Attachment Q to see the complete notes from the bridge exercise.

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Celebration of Accomplishments

Stakeholders were recognized for their work on fish mercury projects. Download Attachment R to view the list of persons recognized for their commitment to fish mercury work:

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Fish Mercury Project

Fish Forum 2007

Attachments