Oregon Oysters Contain Drugs, Other Toxins Says New Report

A new study has lovers of Oregon oysters going, "aw, shucks."

The study - led by researchers at Portland State University - found that Olympia oysters from Netarts and Coos Bays contain "pharmaceuticals and other potentially harmful chemicals—including pain relievers, antibiotics, antihistamines, PCBs, mercury and pesticides."

The researchers, who were assisted by officials from the U.S. Geological Survey, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Oregon Department of environment Quality, says the health risks of consuming seafood with a combination of those chemicals is unknown.

“There are no federal or state guidelines for screening consumption of multiple contaminant types,” said Elise Granek, associate professor of Environmental Science and Management and fellow of the Institute for Sustainable Solutions at Portland State.

Researchers also found that levels of mercury in the oysters were higher than is present in oysters from the Gulf of Mexico or the coast of France, though still within the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality standard and Oregon Health Authority screening levels.

The Oregon Health Authority released a statement telling people it sounds worse than it is.

"It is important to emphasize that the low concentrations of contaminants measured in Olympia oysters' tissues were well below the OHA screening values designed to protect human health," they said in a statement.

The authority said a study they did a couple of years ago that had similar results concluded someone would have had to eat 160,000 pounds of the oysters to get the equivalent of a single dose of Aleve, 50,000 points of oysters to get a single dose of antihistamine, and 630,000 pounds to have the equivalent of a single dose of antibiotic.

Last year, the OHA did release a health advisory on the oysters.

Granek has applied for grants to further research the effects of wastewater effluent on oysters in Coos Bay and also to study whether eating contaminated seafood leads to measurable levels of the same contaminants in the human bloodstream.

"In addition to potential human health risks, the pollutants may affect the growth and reproduction of the oysters themselves—with possible widespread repercussions since oysters play important ecological roles of filtering water and providing habitat for other estuarine and marine species like juvenile salmon," said Granek.