•The original hypothesis that fish from Kittanning would be lowerin the monitored contaminants than fish from heavily contaminated legacy areas nearer to Pittsburgh is rejected.

•Hg and Se levels in catfish fillet tissue did vary significantlybetween the Pittsburgh Pool and 40 miles upstream at the Kittanning Dam. Fish from the Kittanning area had approximately 3 and 1.5 times the Hg and Se, respectively than fish from the Pittsburgh area.

􀀹Modeling of area coal-fired power plant emissions and deposition patterns, wastewater effluent containing high levels of Se and the leaching and runoff from piles of flyash stored near the Allegheny River or within the watershed is hypothesizedas being the source of the higher Hg and Se levels in fish in the Kittanning Dam area.

􀀹As concentrations in fish flesh may not be higher in the Kittanning fish vs. Pittsburgh fish because As is not classically bioaccumulated in fish and is thought to be highly internally regulated.

􀀹Nevertheless, the median As concentration in both Kittanning andPittsburgh Pool fishes were between 1.8 to 8.1 times (with 95% confidence) the median As concentration of storebought fish (farm raised-Georgia, USA).