What is risk assessment? The EPA methodology we use is based on the inexact, though accepted, methodology of "risk assessment", which is a technical means for estimating "risk" or the probability of health impacts from chemical exposures. Under an ideal scenario, risk assessment would draw upon robust and accurate data about the toxicity of contaminants, and their levels in various fish species. In reality, such data often are lacking. With fish contaminants, the toxicity of mercury and PCBs are well established, but the data on concentrations in fish species are often incomplete.
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  • For the press
    • What is the Smart Fish Calculator based on?: The Calculator uses the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) formulas for safe fish consumption for both mercury and PCBs [10], as well as a person's body weight, the amount of fish eaten and the concentration of a contaminant in the fish.

    Our calculator uses data on average fish contaminant concentrations in selected species from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and a salmon study by Hites et al. The concentrations used and the data sources are listed in fish data.

    The Calculator's mercury formula is based on the EPA's estimated "safe" exposure level also known as the "reference dose" for mercury, which is .0001 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. The EPA considers developmental effects to be the most sensitive health effects from mercury. The reference dose for mercury was affirmed by the National Academy of Sciences.

    For PCBs, the Smart Fish Calculator uses the EPA's estimated "safe" exposure level, also known as the "cancer slope factor", which is 2.0 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. The EPA considers cancer to be the most sensitive health effect from PCBs. In estimating cancer risk, the EPA sets an "acceptable risk level" or ARL of an increase in one new cancer case in 100,000 people.

    Fish consumption recommendations are based only on mercury and PCB contamination because data generally are lacking for other known fish contaminants. Other common contaminants in fish include: dioxin, pesticides and PBDE flame retardants (polybrominated diphenyl ethers).