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Public Advisory: Avoid Fish from Superfund Site in Milford

Published Wednesday May 23, 2018

As part of the investigations at the Fletcher’s Paint Works and Storage Facility Superfund Site in Milford, N.H., the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that there is an elevated risk to public health from the ingestion of fish contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in a segment of the Souhegan River.

The river segment with elevated risks, as determined by past fish tissue sampling, starts at the Goldman Dam and ends approximately one-mile upriver near Riverway East, located off Elm Street. Based on data collected, areas of the Souhegan River outside of the segment identified do not pose an unacceptable risk of exposure to PCBs from the Site.

EPA advises anglers not to eat, but to catch and release unharmed, any fish caught in this one-mile segment of the Souhegan River. Fish advisory signs have been posted along this segment of the river. EPA plans to collect and analyze fish samples from this segment of the river in the future to determine if or when the fish advisory should be ended.

PCBs are a group of organic chemicals which were manufactured for a broad range of uses in the US from 1929 until 1979. PCBs have been demonstrated to cause cancer in animals as well as serious non-cancer health effects including effects on the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system, endocrine system and other health effects.

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