SC agency warns against eating fish contaminated by forever chemicals. Here’s what we know

South Carolina’s environmental agency is warning the public to limit consumption of certain types of fish because they are contaminated with forever chemicals, an emerging class of toxic compounds.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control recently found about a dozen species in 18 waterways across the state contained forever chemicals, but the agency initially declined to issue advisories against eating the fish until further studies are conducted.

Now, following a story in The State about the issue, the department is telling people to reduce potential exposure to forever-chemical contamination by reducing the amount of certain types of fish that they eat on a regular basis.

The department did not mention Friday all the species of concern, but it singled out four types on which to limit consumption: largemouth bass, redear sunfish, bluegill sunfish and black crappie, according to an email to The State.

Other types of fish recently found by DHEC to contain PFAS contamination in some waterways include channel catfish, golden shiners, spotted sunfish, redbreast sunfish, warmouth, bowfin and white perch, according to data on the department’s website.

Rivers and lakes where PFAS tainted fish have been found include the Broad River near Gaffney and Columbia; the Congaree River at Columbia; the Ashley River near Charleston; Lake Greenwood west of Lexington; Lake Marion southeast of Columbia; the Great Pee Dee River near Florence; the Savannah River near Augusta, Ga.; the Wateree River near Camden; the Pocotaligo River near Manning; Lake Conestee south of Greenville; and the Waccamaw River southwest of Myrtle Beach.

DHEC’s warning Friday about limiting fish consumption did not give specific advice on how many of these fish to eat per week or month because of contamination from forever chemicals, formally known as per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

But the department acknowledged it is testing more fish as part of an effort that could eventually lead to formal warnings with explicit advice on the amount considered safe to eat because of PFAS contamination.

The health agency already has warnings on fish from many rivers and lakes, primarily because of contamination by mercury.

PFAS exposure is suspected of increasing people’s chances of getting certain types of cancer, increasing cholesterol, causing thyroid problems and lowering their ability to fight disease. The contaminants have been around for more than six decades, but only in recent years has the public learned about the threats.

“As we perform additional fish tissue sampling, analyze the data, and receive guidance on federal standards, we’ll be able to establish science-based fish consumption advisories for PFAS as we have for mercury and PCBs,’’ the agency said in its email Friday to The State.

For now, the department said that if people do eat limited amounts of largemouth bass, bluegill sunfish, redear sunfish and black crappie, they should eat only filets.

The department said subsistence fishermen, children under 14, nursing mothers and pregnant women should be particularly careful about eating fish with forever chemicals.

Unsafe levels of pollutants in fish have become an increasing concern in South Carolina during the past 30 years.

During that time, the state has found that fish in many lakes and rivers – primarily from Columbia to the coast – have elevated mercury levels in their flesh. Fish in some rivers contain toxic PCBs. State advisories typically tell people to limit fish consumption to a few meals per week or month.

DHEC’s advice to limit eating fish with PFAS contamination extends to some fish already covered by mercury advisories in certain rivers and lakes. Those fish, including largemouth bass, slowly build up mercury in their flesh over time from the water they live in and from animals they feed on.

DHEC’s recent testing found fish from some rivers and lakes with mercury and PCB warnings also had PFAS contamination, including the Wateree.

The department’s advice Friday follows reporting by The State that questioned why DHEC had not issued any advice on eating fish contaminated with PFAS, even though the agency has documented the chemicals in fish during testing over the past two years.

Some other states, including Michigan, Massachusetts and Maine, have issued such warnings, The State reported last month. DHEC initially suggested that exposure to PFAS from fish would not cause much harm to the public. But Friday’s statement represented a change.

Bill Stangler, the riverkeeper for the Congaree, Broad and lower Saluda rivers, said he’s glad DHEC chose to warn the public about the threats of PFAS in certain types of fish. That’s particularly important to subsistence fishermen, who for economic reasons must eat fish they catch as a regular part of their diet, he said.

“That’s a population that absolutely needs to get this message,’’ he said. “If they are consuming significantly higher amounts of fish, that means they are also consuming significantly higher amounts of PFAS and potentially other harmful pollutants.’’

Forever chemicals are a class of thousands of compounds once used widely in industry for an array of household products, including non-stick frying pans, stain-resistant carpet and firefighting foam. They are called forever chemicals because they do not break down easily in the environment.

DHEC has found forever chemicals at levels exceeding a proposed new safe drinking water standards in multiple public water systems and rivers across the state. Virtually everywhere the agency has looked, it has found the chemicals.

Textile plants, military bases, wastewater treatment plants and agricultural fields are suspected sources of PFAS in rivers, lakes and drinking water. The chemicals either are discharged directly to rivers, soak into groundwater that feeds rivers, or run off the land and into rivers and lakes.

The State chronicled the threat from PFAS in sewage sludge in a series of investigative stories this past summer. Chemical manufacturers that supplied sludge that was used as fertilizer on farm fields in eastern South Carolina are being sued by citizens and state Attorney General Alan Wilson for supplying PFAS to industries.

DHEC’s recent testing for PFAS in fish also extended to crabs and oysters. Some forever chemical pollution was found in those animals, but at lesser amounts than fish.