As it sponsors Bay City fish fest, Dow claims ignorance on toxic walleye advisories

Dow Chemical Co. — which is sponsoring a walleye tournament, “Celebrity Chowder Challenge” and fresh fish market at BayFest in Bay City over the Memorial Day weekend — says that it learned about the state’s walleye consumption advisory just last week when it was brought to its attention by Michigan Messenger.

Midland-based Dow has been party to conversations about regional environmental contamination and fish advisories since the 1970s, but a disconnect between the company and state public health officials was revealed this week when Michigan Messenger reported that the company included inaccurate — and misleading — information about the state’s fish advisory in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Dioxin, an intensely toxic byproduct of the chemical manufacturing process, has spread 50 miles downstream from the company’s Midland plant and into Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay. Some shareholders are concerned with the potential liability associated with the contamination and in a resolution prepared for Dow’s annual meeting, asked for a progress report on the company’s efforts to address dioxin contamination. In a statement that was certified as accurate by the company, Dow argued that a progress report was unnecessary in part because it said the Michigan Department of Community Health names walleye as a “fish safe for families,” and that walleye under 22-inches long can be eaten by adults without restriction.

In fact, the waters downstream from Dow’s plant feature the state’s most restrictive fish advisories. Public health officials urge everyone to completely avoid catfish, carp and white bass from this river system and the state also warns that everyone place limits on walleye consumption.

“We did make an error,” said Dow spokeswoman Mary Draves. “Thanks for bringing this to our attention.”

The full fish advisory is available here.

After Michigan Messenger reported that the company had misrepresented the fish advisory, Dow published a revision to its proxy statement.

But the new statement again misrepresents the state’s advisory about walleye from the Tittabawassee River.

The company states:

Please note that the following sentence in the Stockholder Proposal for Report on Environmental Remediation in the Midland Area contained the following mis-statement regarding fish advisory information for fish consumption on the Tittabawassee River.

The sentence in the proposal reads: “The current Michigan Department of Community Health (“MDCH”) fish consumption advisory list walleye, the preferred species for consumption from the Tittabawasee River, as a “fish safe for families” and allows “unlimited consumption of walleye under 22 inches” for adults.”

The sentence in the proposal should read: “The current Michigan Department of Community Health (“MDCH”) fish consumption advisory list walleye, the preferred species for consumption from the Tittabawasee River, as a “fish safe for families” and allows “unlimited consumption of walleye under 18 inches” for adults.”

The Michigan Department of Community Health advisory does not refer to walleye from the Tittabawassee River as a “fish safe for families.”

“I don’t know where they got that from,” said Department of Community Health spokesman James McCurtis, referring to Dow.

Children are advised to eat no more than one (4 oz.) meal per month of walleye between 14-18 inches. Pre-menopausal women are also advised to eat no more than one meal a month from walleye 14-18 inches. Only adult men may eat freely of walleye and only of the smallest walleye, those between 14-18 inches.

The most stringent advisories apply to children and to women who may bear children because even minute amounts of dioxin have been linked to developmental disruption in babies.

Dow’s persistent underestimation of the risks associated with eating walleye comes despite a 2004 legal agreement in which the company agreed to pay to disseminate the state’s fish advisory.

Dow has significant organizational involvement in promoting walleye fishing.

The company is a longtime sponsor of the annual Walleye Fest in Freeland. Last year it sponsored the Professional Walleye Trail Mercury Championship in Bay City. It has also awarded grant money to the Mason County Walleye Association which raises walleye that the state Department of Natural Resources uses to stock Michigan lakes.

“Any advisories would have been transmitted to Dow,” Michigan Department of Environmental Quality spokesman Bob McCann said. He added that the fish advisories are always part of the state’s ongoing cleanup negotiations with Dow.

Mary Draves of Dow said that she is unaware of any effort to communicate about the state’s fish advisory at this weekend’s BayFest.

According to Connie Williams of Bay Port Fish Co., the festival’s fresh fish market will feature local fish, and The Bay City Times reports that samples from the Celebrity Chowder Challenge will be sold to the public.

State health officials recommend BayFest attendees consult the state’s online fish advisory before choosing to eat fish at this weekend’s festival.