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In deriving water quality standards and appropriate restoration levels for contaminated surface waters, the potential for human exposure is often the most important factor to be considered. For certain persistent compounds, like 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TODD) or mixtures of polychlorinated biphenyls, a primary pathway of human exposure is through ingestion offish obtained from affected waters. Pending water quality regulation for TCDD in Maine required that estimates be made of the rate of consumption of freshwater fish obtained from rivers that receive TCDD discharges. Because commercial freshwater fishers do not exist on Maine rivers, any freshwater fish that are eaten have been caught by anglers. A statewide mail survey of Maine's licensed anglers was undertaken to characterize rates offish consumption from rivers and streams in Maine. The survey was mailed to 2,500 licensed resident anglers who were randomly selected from state license files. The response rate of 70% (based on deliverable surveys) resulted in a usable sample of 1,612 anglers. Results ofthis study indicated that, if fish are shared with other fish eaters in the household, the annual average consumption of freshwater river fish per consuming angler in Maine is 3.7 g/d. Comparisons of findings of this study and of studies in other regions of the United States show considerable variations in fish consumption rates, supporting the use of state- or region-specific estimates of fish consumption in establishing water quality regulations for persistent, biologically accumulative compounds.
Ebert et al. (Mon,) studied this question.