THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 10, 1995 TAG: 9501100354
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
Scientists and health experts are studying what sounds like an unappetizing joke: harvesting clams for human consumption from the heavily polluted Elizabeth River.
Encouraged by recent reports that some patches of river bottom are not as chemically tainted as first thought, officials may reverse a 70-year-old ban on catching clams from the notorious Elizabeth by opening a few select beds.
``There's certainly a clear possibility of that happening or we wouldn't be looking at it like this,'' said Mory Roberts, chairman of environmental sciences at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
Roberts, however, needs about $20,000 to complete research on clam samples taken from 14 river sites this summer.
Some of those samples already have passed safety tests for pesticides and heavy metals, said Robert Croonenberghs, director of shellfish sanitation at the Virginia Department of Health. The clams must pass all chemical and bacteria tests before being approved for market.
Lifting the ban, imposed in 1925 because of polluted waters, would be an economic and symbolic boost for a river often described as one of most toxic in the nation.
Whether consumers would balk at a plate of Elizabeth River clams remains unclear, as do the long-term health effects of eating shellfish from a waterway that suffers from decades of industrial contamination.
The issue is just one that experts and activists will discuss today at the second annual Elizabeth River Project conference. The all-day event is being held at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott. A panel on human health risks convenes this morning.
Last year's conference motivated the state Health Department to consider a limited clam harvest.
Croonenberghs said he was ``greatly impressed'' by a research paper by the marine science institute that found bottom sediments were not as dramatically polluted as conventional science has assumed for years.
Not that the Elizabeth is getting substantially cleaner, however. Scientists said it appears that pockets exist in several areas, mostly near the mouth of the river, where contaminants have not overwhelmed the natural environment. This is where clams can grow.
If the ban is lifted, clams would first be moved to cleaner waters where they could purge themselves for a minimum of 15 days before going to market, Croonenberghs said.
The process, called relaying, is used in harvesting seafood from other polluted waterways in Virginia.
``Let me stress that we will be very cautious in what areas we'd open,'' Croonenberghs said. ``Virginia has always had a good reputation with its seafood and we're not about to change that.''
Despite such assurances, one expert in marine toxicology questions whether clams exposed to the numerous chemicals in the Elizabeth - including cancer-causing agents - could purge themselves soon enough to make them worthwhile to commercial clammers.
``Some of the contaminants would take much longer, probably a whole season to cleanse themselves,'' said Ray Alden, director of the Applied Marine Research Lab at Old Dominion University.
Asked if he would eat clams from the river, Alden said: ``It depends on what section they're from. At best, it would be iffy, though; I'd want to see the data on them first.''
That is precisely what Roberts and Croonenberghs want to provide. But testing for tributyltin (TBT) and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), two highly toxic pollutants known to be in the river, can cost at least $1,000 per sample, and funding has been scarce.
Grant requests are pending, but Croonenberghs said he is ``fairly optimistic'' about getting the money.
Watermen have been pressing the state to allow clamming in the Elizabeth for years. Stories of huge, healthy clam beds are renowned, although unconfirmed.
Tommy Leggett, a clammer who helped gather samples for Croonenberghs this summer, said he was generally impressed with the number of healthy clams he saw - except on the highly industrial Southern Branch, where no clams were even found alive.
Leggett, who also carries some clout as a board member on the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, believes in lifting the ban. He also supports appropriating money for needed research from a state fund fueled by commercial fishing licenses.
``I'm sure people would be concerned (about eating Elizabeth clams), but we're already working waters just outside the mouth of the river already,'' Leggett said. ``I think under strict management, this could work.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff illustration
JOHN EARLE/Staff
KEYWORDS: CLAMS ENVIRONMENT ELIZABETH RIVER by CNB