Fishy chemicals found in area waters

The Illinois Department of Public Health is warning people not to eat some fish from area lakes because they could contain mercury and other chemicals.

In Lake in the Hills, anglers are being warned not to eat largemouth bass over 15 inches long, while Chain O' Lakes fishermen are warned against eating channel catfish and carp over 18 inches long.

The bass in Lake in the Hills have been found to have low-level traces of mercury in their system.

The public health department says women who are beyond childbearing age and males over 15 should only consume bass from Lake in the Hills once a week. Women who are pregnant, nursing or are of childbearing age, and children younger than 15 should only eat the bass once a month.

On the Chain, catfish and carp have been discovered with traces of chlordane and polychlorinated biphenyls. No one should eat those fish more than once a week, officials say.

Debra Quackenbush, community information coordinator for the McHenry County Health Department, said the fish advisory report is issued annually, and this is the first time lakes in McHenry County have appeared in the report.

"We don't want to discourage people from eating fish because it's very healthy," she said. "We just want to make sure certain individuals who are more susceptible to mercury in fish are aware of their content."

She added that when cooking the fish in question, the skin and all fatty tissue should be removed. The fish should be prepared in such a way that fat can drip away from the fish, and those drippings should be discarded and not used in other dishes.

She said those precautions will reduce the amount of mercury in meals.

For more information about the advisories and more ways to ensure fish are safe, she recommends checking out the Illinois Department of Public Health Web site at www.idph.state.il.us.