Mutated Trout Raise New Concerns Over Selenium

The New York Times:

It was the two-headed baby trout that got everyone’s attention.

Photographs of variously mutated brown trout were relegated to an appendix of a scientific study commissioned by the J. R. Simplot Company, whose mining operations have polluted nearby creeks in southern Idaho. The trout were the offspring of local fish caught in the wild that had been spawned in the laboratory. Some had two heads; others had facial, fin and egg deformities.

Read the whole story: The New York Times

Comments

[btokars]

05:51 PM on 06/20/2012

A two-headed trout, questionable relationships between a big private ag company and government (State and Federal) agencies...although its happening in Idaho, it sounds like a trip to the strange world of California water politics.

We all need a little selenium in our diet, but there are places in California's Central Valley (on the west side) that have huge amounts of the stuff in the soil and n way to get rid f it.

In the 1980s the alarm went off when the story of selenium deformed birds was covered by CBS's 60-minutes.

These videos from Salmon Water Now tell the story about our selenium problems. It also helps to understand why people in California who care about preventing wild salmon from going away forever are fighting so hard to make what is wrong, right again.

Bad Dirt, Bad Water, Bad Farms: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rk5Kl5TFFE&hd=1

Whacky World of California Water: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoRXX8Xcu4E&hd=1

3012: The Space Salmon Incident - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64dqhgRM1qI&hd=1

[tomstokely]

03:32 PM on 06/20/2012

The US Geological Service has said in Open File Report 2008-1210 (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1210/) that "Land retirement is a key strategy to reduce drainage because it can effectively reduce drainage to zero if all drainage-impaired lands are retired." "The treatment sequence of reuse, reverse osmosis, selenium bio-treatment, and enhanced solar evaporation is unprecedented and untested at the scale needed to meet plan requirements."

The Bureau of Reclamation is shutting down its land retirement office. The obvious solution is not to irrigate these toxic lands using subsidized water to grow subsidized crops with below cost power. However, because of the massive political power of the San Luis Unit contractors, the obvious solution is not being pursued. Instead, the taxpayers will be wasting millions on technology that won't treat the problem and even if it were feasible, it's not cost effective.

The former Soviet Union couldn't have thought of a better system to harm the environment and waste taxpayer dollars.

Tom Stokely
California Water Impact Network
www.c-win.org

[djuno1966]

12:34 AM on 03/25/2012

we cannot drill for oil but gold mining and the mercury runoff to kill nature is just dandy
two headed trout when cooked taste like candy
all that gold and money comin in
corporations and CEOs commit no sin

[bruce from sioux falls]

11:27 PM on 02/27/2012

Selenium Analysis of water, soil, feed and anything you want to test can be performed at labs such as South Dakota Agricultural Laboratories (http://sdaglabs.com). Proper analysis can help prevent mutant fish and other wildlife.

[karen lyons kalmenson]

07:08 AM on 02/25/2012

once upon a time
the world was clean
waters ran blue
forests grew tall
and green
and now our world
is made of
two headed trout
so mutated the
creator's vision
we must all
stand and shout

[Ernie Wisner]

09:21 PM on 02/23/2012

god is in jail for protesting during the former occupants 8 years in the white house.

[Deep Thinking Man]

04:37 PM on 02/23/2012

i'll guarantee that those who cause problems such as this...will never pay or do time !!!!!

[Citizen13]

04:18 PM on 02/23/2012

Where is God?

[dsouthard]

02:51 PM on 02/23/2012

At first glance I thought the headline was "Mutated Trout Raise New Concerns Over Santorum".