SCIENCE / MEDICINE : Dioxin in Vancouver Fish

Trace elements of dioxin have been detected in shellfish, crabs and bottomfish near a pulp mill on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canadian Fisheries Minister Tom Siddon said.

The fish were taken by department officials near MacMillan Bloedel’s pulp mill at Harmac south of Nanaimo, British Columbia, he said.

The samples of crabs, clams, oysters and sole showed traces of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, among the most toxic synthetic substances known. But the levels are well below the tolerance limits set by the federal Health Department, according to Siddon.

Test results indicated quantities of TCDD in the one-to-four-parts-a-trillion range. Health and Welfare Canada sets a 20-parts-a-trillion ceiling for fish products.

Still, Siddon said, the findings are a concern and the ministry plans to test fish near other British Columbia pulp mills.