Table 3.
General characteristics of the 48 state fish consumption advisory Web sites assessed.
| Attribute | No. (%) |
|---|---|
| Issuing agency | |
| Healtha | 24 (50.0) |
| Environmentalb | 7 (14.6) |
| Health and environmentc | 2 (4.2) |
| Jointly issued by two agencies | 5 (10.4) |
| Jointly issued by three agencies | 6 (12.5) |
| Jointly issued by four agencies | 1 (2.1) |
| Otherd | 3 (6.3) |
| Scope | |
| Statewide/general guidance only | 3 (6.3) |
| Site-specific advice onlye | 11 (22.9) |
| Combination of statewide/general guidance and site-specific advice | 34 (70.8) |
| Advice on locally caught fish only | 18 (37.5) |
| Advice on both locally and commercially caught fish | 30 (62.5) |
| Advice on finfish species only | 18 (37.5) |
| Advice on both finfish and shellfish speciesf | 30 (62.5) |
| Advisory development methods | |
| Reference advisory development methods | 28 (58.3) |
| Use what appear to be risk-based methods | 23 (47.9) |
| Estimate cancer risk | 9 (18.8) |
| Estimate noncancer risk | 7 (14.6) |
| Estimate both cancer and noncancer risk | 6 (12.5) |
| Reference advice issued by other entities | |
| Reference and reiterate the 2004 joint U.S. EPA/FDA advice | 13 (27.1) |
| Reference advice issued by other states | 11 (22.9) |
Departments and divisions of health, health and senior/human services, health and hospitals, public health, community health, and environmental health.
Environmental protection, conservation, management, quality, and services, as well as departments of the environment or natural resources.
The unique so-called health and environment agency does not fall into either the health or environment categories.
Agencies such as game and fish commissions and food or seafood quality divisions that did not fit into other categories well.
Advice pertinent to particular water bodies, counties, etc.
Shellfish include mollusks (e.g., clams, oysters, octopus, squid, snails) and crustaceans (e.g., crab, lobster, crayfish).