swat stuff

Following is a summary of key findings from the 2011 SWAT program for its Marine Module .  1

Acronyms 

FTAL =   Fish Tissue Action Level) for cancer

. MARINE AND ESTUARINE

 In 2011, blue mussel tissue from East End Beach, Portland, Mill Creek, Falmouth,

Rockland, and Sandy Point, Stockton Springs, was analyzed for contaminants

including metals, mercury, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs),

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), and organochlorinated pesticides. In 2011,

tissue from six additional blue mussel sites in the Sheepscot estuary was analyzed

for metals and mercury only.

 In 2011, softshell clam tissue from Fort Point Cove, Stockton Springs, was tested

and reported with data from seven other softshell clam sites sampled in 2004-05

and 2010. Clam tissue was analyzed for contaminants including metals, mercury,

PAHs, PCBs, and organochlorinated pesticides.

 Lead in mussel tissue exceeded the National Status and Trends (NS&T)

Musselwatch 85th percentile concentration at six sites in 2011, resulting in these

sites receiving an “elevated” designation. Two of these sites, East End Beach,

Portland, and Crockett Point, Rockland, also exceeded the Maine Center for

Disease Control’s (MCDC) fish tissue action level (FTAL) for lead in finfish.

Lead in clam tissue in 2011 at Fort Point Cove, Stockton Springs, fell just below

the MCDC FTAL for lead in finfish. Previous clam tissue sampling in 2005 at

Fort Point Cove exceeded the MCDC FTAL for lead in finfish.