Published: September 15, 2007 10:36 pm         

Officials in need of more Deep Creek Lake fish eaters

MCHENRY — The scientists who want to find out how much mercury is in the bodies of people who eat fish from Deep Creek Lake are scrambling to find 100 volunteers.

“We have just 10 people who we know qualify and are coming in for sampling,” said Melissa O’Neal of the University of Maryland’s Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg. “We are hoping for a large walk-in.”

The laboratory and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta want to take blood samples from people who eat four meals per month of fish caught in the popular lake.

The fish have exhibited high mercury readings.

The mercury is generated at coal-burning power plants upwind from Western Maryland. It adheres to rain and falls into waterways where it enters the food chain.

Volunteers will be paid $25 for their efforts and more than one member from an individual family may participate.

Samples will be taken Monday through Thursday at the Deep Creek Volunteer Fire Department from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

Volunteers may simply walk in or call ahead at 1-866-833-1861 or sign in via e-mail at BloodMercuryTesting@gmail.com.

A link to information about the effort is found at www.fishdeepcreek.com.

“We know that link has had more than 340 views,” O’Neal said. “After the initial article ran in the Times-News, most of the calls we got were from the Georges Creek area, so we posted fliers there.”

O’Neal said she has been told that most people who fish for food at the lake do so through the ice in the winter.

“We’re finding that most of the fishermen in the summer and fall are in tournaments or fishing on their own and they catch and release,” she said.

Participants in the study must be 18 or older. Pregnant women are not eligible.

High levels of mercury can result in finger and toe numbness and decreased coordination.

Michael A. Sawyers can be reached at msawyers@times-news.com.