Number: 1984-13
WHEREAS, it has recently been discovered that six species of fish from five locations in the United States (i.e., 1 each in Michigan, Ohio, and Washington; 2 in New York) have an exceedingly high incidence of cancerous tumors, and that the types of cancers observed are inducible by man-made chemicals; and
WHEREAS, these discoveries may well portend the existence of similar fish cancer “hotspots” in other lakes and rivers; and
WHEREAS, the accumulation of cancer-causing chemicals in the tissues of fish may result in human consumers being exposed to the same chemicals; and
WHEREAS, pollution-induced disease in fish and shellfish is often the first signs of serious environmental degradation; and
WHEREAS, deficiencies are widespread in governmental approaches toward monitoring, standard-setting, notification of fishermen and other consumers, and source control with respect to cancer-causing and other toxic pollutants that contaminate U.S. surface waters;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 15-18, 1984, in Atlanta, Georgia, urges that Federal and State governments, and duly constituted interstate and international bodies, as appropriate, initiate early warning monitoring programs and cooperative tumor registries to determine the incidence and extent of cancerous tumors in fish and of tumor-causing pollutants in the environment, throughout the United States; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that State and Federal governments and interstate and international bodies, greatly expand their efforts to curtail the pollution of the Nation’s lakes, rivers and coastal waters by cancer-causing and other toxic chemicals; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) establish maximum safe levels (“action levels” and tolerances) for known or suspected carcinogens in fish and shellfish; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Congress amend the FDA’s existing statutory authority to require the FDA, when establishing “action levels” and tolerances for fish and shellfish contaminants, to tailor these limits to specific geographic areas and subpopulations, so as to better reflect variations in rates of fish and shellfish consumption within the overall population; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the various jurisdictions should establish uniform and comprehensive alert and notice systems for advising fishermen and other fish and shellfish consumers of the presence of deleterious pollutant levels and/or tumors in fish and shellfish found in their waters.