Carp and largemouth bass from Chartiers Creek in Allegheny and Washington counties, and channel catfish in Pool 4 of the Monongahela River are now OK to eat, albeit in limited quantities, according to the new Pennsylvania fish consumption advisory issued today.

Statewide, the 2010 advisory adds two new fish species and a waterway that were not on last year's list while relaxing or lifting advisories on consumption of fish from seven creeks, rivers and lakes.

The Chartiers Creek and Monongahela River advisories were in place this year due to contamination from chlordane, a pesticide used extensively to prevent termite infestation and on corn and citrus crops, lawns and gardens from 1948 to 1988, when it was banned because of environmental and health concerns, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

According to the EPA, chlordane is a probable human carcinogen and can also affect liver, kidney and thyroid functioning and the nervous and respiratory systems.

The advisory continues the state's longstanding recommendation to limit consumption of any sport fish caught anywhere in Pennsylvania to one meal per week. One meal is considered to be one-half pound of fish for a 150-pound person, and the advisory is designed to keep women of childbearing age and young children from eating too much fish that has not been tested or that contains unspecified contaminants.

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