Planning that ice fishing trip to Vermont?
Bad news: Your catch might be radioactive.
No, these fish aren’t the three-eye kind seen on an episode of the “Simpsons” -- but they do contain radioactive materials.
Scientists at the Vermont Department of Health found that fish in Lake Carmi in northern Vermont contain low levels of naturally-occurring and man-made chemicals. The radioactive elements and their amounts are very similar to those found in Connecticut River fish by the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant -- nearly 200 miles south of the lake.
The river fish were tested two years ago and have had no contact or interaction with the lake fish, according to HLN affiliate WPTZ. This led the scientists to believe that the radiation isn’t coming from the nuclear plant, but rather, from another time.
"Most of it came from weapons testing in the Atomic era -- the 1940s, '50, and '60s," Bill Irwin, the radiological and toxicological sciences program chief for the Vermont Department of Health, told WPTZ.
Now, for the good news: Authorities say your catch is still edible!
"If fish were healthy to eat two days ago, before anybody heard about this, it's still the same," said Irwin.
Local fishing enthusiast Steven Laramee knows this from experience. He told the affiliate he’s been fishing on Lake Carmi and eating the fish for years and has “never had any reaction to it.”
And news of radiation isn’t stopping him. “Even if I didn't eat them. I'm still going to fish because I enjoy fishing," said Laramee.
So, would you nosh on the radioactive fish?
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