PFOS advisory downgraded near Clark’s Marsh
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ALPENA -- Hunters can safely consume white-tailed deer harvested closer to Clark’s Marsh in Oscoda Township in Iosco County than originally thought, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced on Wednesday.
The agency reduced its do-not-eat zone for deer taken from a 5-mile to a 3-mile radius around the wetland area.
DHHS issued the original advisory after tissue taken from one of 20 deer harvested near Clark's Marsh in 2018 showed extremely high levels of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, or PFOS, associated with harmful health effects in people.
Samples from an additional 44 deer collected in the Clark’s Marsh area in 2020 indicated deer living closer to the wetland are more likely to have PFOS in their livers, the DHHS said.
DHHS advises residents to not eat any fish or aquatic or semi aquatic wildlife -- including muskrats, frogs, snails, turtles, and crayfish -- taken from Clark's Marsh.
Nobody should eat organs from fish, deer, or other wild game harvested anywhere in the state because of the potential for accumulation of dangerous chemicals in wildlife organs, health officials say.