This study is a national screening-level survey of chemical residues in fish tissue from lakes and reservoirs in the conterminous United States (lower 48 states), excluding the Laurentian Great Lakes and Great Salt Lake. It is unique among national assessments of fish contamination in lakes because the sampling sites were selected according to a statistical (random) design. Study results allow EPA to estimate the percentage of lakes and reservoirs in the United States with chemical concentrations in fish tissue that are above levels of potential concern for humans or for wildlife that eat fish. This study also includes the largest set of chemicals ever studied in fish. Whole fish and fillets were analyzed for 268 persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals, including mercury, arsenic, dioxins and furans, the full complement of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, and a large number of pesticides and semivolatile organic compounds.

• Basic Information
  Why is the study important? What is the objective of the study?
• Fish Sampling
  What are important elements of the sampling design?
• Fish Tissue Analysis
  What are important elements of the analysis activities?
• Data Analysis
  What approach did EPA use for statistical anaylsis of the fish tissue concentration data?
• Results
  What data and reports are available? How can they be obtained?
• Contacts
  Who is the EPA Program Manager? Who are the study contacts in my region?
• Related Links
  What programs have information related to the study?