‘Forever chemicals’ prompt new, stricter advice for eating fish from Mississippi

Concerns about pollutants including "forever chemicals” have prompted state health officials to issue new guidelines for eating fish from a stretch of the Mississippi River between St. Paul and Wabasha.

The new recommendations apply to Pool 2 of the Mississippi from St. Paul’s Ford Dam to Hastings, Pool 3 from Hastings to Red Wing, and Pool 4 from Red Wing to Wabasha, as well as connected Minnesota lakes and backwaters.

A recent data analysis of fish pulled from the Mississippi between pools 2 through 4 prompted the change in guidance, said Angela Preimesberger, fish consumption guidance scientist with the Minnesota Department of Health.

“We did find that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are found in higher concentrations and a larger number of mixture of contaminants in these fish than we see on average,” Preimesberger said.