PDBE Shows Up In Matanzas River Oysters (FL) Despite Fading Status Of Fire Retardant In US Mfg.

[hatrack]

A chemical compound that's banned in some countries has turned up in surprising levels in oysters in a nearly untouched St. Johns County waterway. The discovery of the fire-retardant chemical in the Matanzas River near Crescent Beach is puzzling, but whether it's really meaningful remains to be seen, said a scientist who works in the area.

"It's a concern, but it's not something that's a panic situation," said Michael Shirley, director of the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve. He said he's not sure why the chemical might be found there and has asked federal researchers who reported the levels to recheck their findings. "I could understand if we had a drainage going into that area from a landfill," Shirley said. "This area is fairly pristine. ... It's not industrialized at all."

The substance, called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), has a similar chemical structure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were banned decades ago as a health hazard. Recently, federal researchers studied shellfish and sediment samples from shorelines around the country to survey PBDE levels nationally.

Their study, released this month, reported a high PBDE level in oyster tissue in the Matanzas near the Florida 206 bridge. It's one of few places in Northeast Florida where oyster harvesting is still allowed. A smaller amount was also found in oysters from Chicopit Bay, where the St. Johns River meets the Intracoastal Waterway in Jacksonville.

Ed. - emphasis added

EDIT

http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-04-20/story/area_oysters_contain_fire_retardant