Mercury-Filled

Mercury Levels Exceed EPA Standards
About a quarter of these fish were found to contain mercury at levels exceeding the criterion for the protection of people who consume average amounts of fish, established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. More than two-thirds of the fish exceeded the U.S. EPA level of concern for fish-eating mammals.

“This study shows just how widespread mercury pollution has become in our air, watersheds, and many of our fish in freshwater streams,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “This science sends a clear message that our country must continue to confront pollution, restore our nation’s waterways, and protect the public from potential health dangers.”

Some of the highest levels of mercury in fish were found in the tea-colored or “blackwater” streams in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana — areas associated with relatively undeveloped forested watersheds containing abundant wetlands compared to the rest of the country. High levels of mercury in fish also were found in relatively undeveloped watersheds in the Northeast and the Upper Midwest. Elevated levels are noted in areas of the Western United States affected by mining. Complete findings of the USGS report, as well as additional detailed studies in selected streams, are available online.

For a national listing of fish advisories from the Environmental Protection Agency, click here.

Mercury: A Neurotoxin
Mercury, a neurotoxin, is one of the most serious contaminants threatening our nation’s waters. The main source of mercury to natural waters is mercury that is emitted to the atmosphere and deposited onto watersheds by precipitation. However, atmospheric mercury alone does not explain contamination in fish in our nation’s streams. Naturally occurring watershed features, like wetlands and forests, can enhance the conversion of mercury to the toxic form, methylmercury. Methylmercury is readily taken up by aquatic organisms, resulting in contamination in fish.

“This study improves our understanding of where mercury ends up in fish in freshwater streams,” said USGS scientist Barbara Scudder. “The findings are critical for decision-makers to effectively manage mercury sources and to better anticipate concentrations of mercury and methylmercury in unstudied streams in comparable environmental settings.”

The USGS studied mercury contamination in fish, bed sediment and water from 291 streams across the nation, sampled from 1998 to 2005. Atmospheric mercury is the main source to most of these streams — coal-fired power plants are the largest source of mercury emissions in the United States — but 59 of the streams also were potentially affected by gold and mercury mining. Since USGS studies targeted specific sites and fish species, the findings may not be representative of mercury levels in all types of freshwater environments across the United States.

All 50 states have mercury monitoring programs, and 48 states issued fish-consumption advisories for mercury in 2006, the most recent year of national-scale reporting to the EPA. The EPA regulates mercury emissions to air, land and water. In February 2009, the EPA announced that it intends to control air emissions of mercury from coal-fired power plants by issuing a rule under the Clean Air Act.

For a podcast regarding today’s announcement, click here.

Contacts:

Barbara Scudder (USGS), bscudder@usgs.gov, (608) 821-3832

Jennifer LaVista (USGS), jlavista@usgs.gov, (703) 648-4432

FDA Warning

Q. What types of products are affected by this public health advisory?

A. FDA is warning consumers about products that are being marketed for body building and that claim to contain steroids or steroid-like substances. These products are sold online and in retail stores and are promoted as hormone products and/or as alternatives to anabolic steroids for increasing muscle mass and strength. Many of these products are labeled as dietary supplements and make claims about the ability of the active ingredients to enhance or diminish androgen, estrogen, or progestin-like effects in the body. Consumers should be aware that these products are potentially harmful and that FDA has not approved them nor reviewed their safety before marketing.

Q. What are some examples of these types of products?

A. These body building products are often marketed as being anabolic (promoting muscle building) and/or being similar to anabolic steroids (such as testosterone). The products included in the warning letter to American Cellular Laboratories Inc. provide a few examples of the body building products about which FDA has safety concerns. The product names and ingredients listed in the warning letter are:

• TREN-Xtreme: 19-Norandrosta-4,9-diene-3,17 dione, marketed as “similar to Trenbolone”
• MASS Xtreme: 17α-methyl-etioallocholan-2-ene-17b-ol, marketed as “similar to Methyl Testosterone”
• ESTRO Xtreme: 4-hydroxyandrostenedione (4-OHA)
• AH-89-Xtreme: 5α-androstano[3,2-c]pyrazole-3-one-17β-ol-THP-ether, marketed as “similar to Stanozolol”
• HMG Xtreme: 2α,3α-epithio-17α-methyl-17β-hydroxy-5α-etioallocholane
• MMA-3 Xtreme: Androsta-1,4-dien-3,17-dione, marketed as “similar to Boldenone (Equipoise)”
• VNS-9 Xtreme: 17α-methyl-4-chloro-androsta-1,4-diene-3β,17β-diol, marketed as “similar to Turinabol”
• TT-40-Xtreme: 1-androsterone, marketed as “very similar to 1-Testosterone” and “converts to 1-Testosterone”

Q. What are the health risks of these types of products?

A. Adverse event reports received by FDA for body building products that are labeled to contain steroids or steroid alternatives involve men (ages 22-55) and include cases of serious liver injury, stroke, kidney failure and pulmonary embolism (blockage of an artery in the lung). Acute liver injury is known to be a possible harmful effect of using anabolic steroid-containing products. In addition, anabolic steroids may cause other serious long-term adverse health consequences in men, women, and children. These include shrinkage of the testes and male infertility, masculinization of women, breast enlargement in males, short stature in children, adverse effects on blood lipid levels, and increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Q. Why does FDA say these products are illegally marketed?

A. These products are NOT dietary supplements because they contain synthetic steroid or steroid-like active ingredients. These products are unapproved new drugs because they are not generally recognized as safe and effective. In fact, they are potentially harmful. In addition, the products are misbranded because the labeling is misleading and does not provide adequate directions for use.

Q. What action is FDA taking?

A. FDA has issued a public health advisory to highlight the risks of products that are marketed for body building and that contain or claim to contain steroids or steroid-like substances. The agency has executed a search warrant and issued a warning letter to American Cellular Laboratories Inc., which markets a number of these products, because the products are unapproved new drugs and are misbranded. FDA is gathering and reviewing additional data about other products that are marketed for body building and that claim to contain steroids or steroid-like substances.

Q. What should consumers do if they have been using these products?

A. Due to the potential serious health risks, FDA recommends that consumers immediately stop using these products. Consumers should also consult their health care professional if they are experiencing symptoms possibly associated with these products, particularly nausea, weakness or fatigue, fever, abdominal pain, chest pain, shortness of breath, yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes, or brown/discolored urine. FDA also recommends that consumers talk with their health care professional about body building supplements they are taking, particularly if they are uncertain about the product’s ingredients.

These products are often promoted to athletes to improve sports performance and to aid in recovery from training and sporting events. FDA cautions that athletes taking these products may test positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

Q. How should consumers report problems to FDA?

A. Report serious side effects or product quality problems with the use of these products to FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online, by regular mail, fax, or phone.

• Online
• Regular Mail: Use FDA postage paid form 3500 and mail to MedWatch, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787
• Fax: 800-FDA-0178
• Phone: 800-FDA-1088

This article appears on FDA’s Consumer Updates page, which features the latest on all FDA-regulated products.

Date Posted: July 28, 2009