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Greater numbers of fish caught recreationally could have health implications, too.
The Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites) said Tuesday that one of every three lakes in the nation and nearly one-quarter of its rivers were so polluted that people were advised by states to limit or avoid consuming fish caught there.
The advisories involve almost 75 percent of the nation's coastline, but exclude Alaska and deep-sea commercial fisheries. The EPA advises people to be wary of mercury, PCBs, dioxins and other pollutants that tend to work their way up the food chain, accumulating in fish fat.
Mercury affects the nervous system and is especially dangerous for pregnant women and children. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were banned as a probable carcinogen. Dioxins pose a possible cancer risk in humans.
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