Contaminants could have affected Lake Mead fish

Tuesday, May 26, 1998 | 10:10 a.m.

A warning to Lake Mead fishermen: high levels of contaminants may have affected the fish caught from the lake, also Southern Nevada's major source of drinking water.

Scientists are reviewing thousands of pages of data on pesticides, heavy metals and other toxic chemicals found in the lake's game fish.

Biologists began pouring over 1,600 pages of information a week ago to add up the types of industrial and urban pollutants found.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency analyzed tissues sampled in its Richmond, Calif., laboratory from 30 striped bass and 30 catfish collected over the past year in Lake Mead.

The early results -- about 50 pages of research -- showed some DDT, but DDE accounted for most of the pesticides.

"I'm not surprised at all," said Allen Biaggi, deputy administrator for the Nevada Environmental Protection Division, who explained that persistent pesticides are discovered across the country. The DDE, he noted, is a common pesticide used by homeowners.

Biaggi, who will take over as administrator of the state EPA in July, said he was surprised not to find a lot of DDT, a pesticide that can linger in the environment for a long time, or lindane. Both chemical insect killers were manufactured at the Basic Management Industrial complex near Henderson in the 1940s and 1950s.

A U.S. Geological Survey of bottom-feeding carp two years ago indicated the highest levels of toxins in the nation. That finding led to further tests on game fish.

National Park Service biologist Bill Burke will make a preliminary report to the Lake Mead Water Quality Forum during its June 4 meeting at the Las Vegas Valley Water District. The forum is a mix of federal, state and local agencies and consultants concerned about how pollution affects Lake Mead, the drinking water source for millions in the Las Vegas Valley and the Southwest.

There won't be much of a report by June.

Burke said the technical committee, composed of biologists and toxicologists, will discuss their findings with health officials before making recommendations, but full results of the EPA tests are incomplete.