CENTRE — Fish consumption guidelines for Weiss Lake recently amended by the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) show an increase in harmful contaminants in the 30,200-acre reservoir.

New guidelines released in August and updated last week show an increase of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the lake over the previous year’s results. Prior to 2011, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) had not conducted tests in Weiss since 2003 due to budget shortfalls.

In the 2003 tests, only one species of fish was listed on a consumption advisory for PCBs. In 2011, the number was increased to two species. This year's report lists multiple species, including channel and blue catfish, striped bass and largemouth bass, and black crappie.

The advisory, released by the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) initially recommended limiting the intake of all species of fish caught in Weiss Lake to one meal per month. After last week’s revision, the recommended intake of black crappie was increased to one meal per week. The other species are still limited to one meal per month.

A meal portion consists of 6 ounces of cooked fish or 8 ounces of raw fish, according to an ADPH news release issued earlier this month in conjunction with the advisory.

After reading the first version of the advisory, local tourism and conservation officials reached out to the Health Department to seek a more definitive measurement of PCB levels in Weiss Lake that would provide more information to the public.

“Many hours of research and numerous conversations with state agencies involved in the fish consumption advisory and elected officials have resulted in this reevaluation and change,” said Weiss Lake Improvement Association President Carolyn Landrem.

State Health Officer Dr. Donald Williamson told The Post the change was basically a matter of semantics.

“The level (of PCB contamination found in black crappie) could have been rounded up or down,” Williamson said Thursday. “We went back and rounded the number down in order to seek conformity with the way the value was arrived at in Georgia.”

According to the advisory, available online at www.adph.org, tests on a variety of fish were conducted at three locations: on the Coosa River at the Georgia state line; in the middle of the Weiss reservoir immediately upstream from the Highway 9 causeway in Cedar Bluff; and in the lower reservoir in the deepest part of the main river channel near the Weiss Dam forebay south of Leesburg.

Landrem said she is concerned about the sudden increase of PCBs in Weiss Lake since ADEM has resumed testing. The chemical was banned by the U.S. government in 1979 and has been shown to cause cancer in animals.

“Weiss Lake Improvement Association will continue to seek answers regarding why we have had this increase in PCB issues in fish when, for many years, we had none,” Landrem said. “Our organization constantly works to protect and enhance Weiss Lake and its fisheries and will keep everyone informed about future developments.”

In August, the Rome (Ga.) News-Tribune reported that testing continues to reveal “potentially harmful levels of PCBs” flowing into Horseleg Creek from a drainage area off the site of a former General Electric plant in Rome. Before being banned, PCBs were used to insulate large electrical transformers built at the plant.

The creek, which flows into the Coosa River and helps feed Weiss Lake, has been the site of a PCB cleanup effort since mid-July, according to the News-Tribune. The cleanup involves the removal of 5,500 tons of soil and is expected to be completed by the end of the month, the paper reported. 

Attempts to contact ADEM for comment about the possible connection between the Horseleg Creek cleanup and the increase in the number of fish showing signs of PCB contamination in Weiss Lake were unsuccessful by press time. Check the Oct. 8 edition of The Post for more information.