Report: Potential effects of PBDEs on Puget Sound and Southern Resident Killer Whales

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 and the National Marine Fisheries Service Northwest Region have released a report describing results from a series of technical workgroups about the potential effects of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) on Puget Sound and Southern Resident killer whales.

A "spy hopping" Southern Resident killer whale in the San Juan Islands. Image courtesy of NOAA.
A "spy hopping" Southern Resident killer whale in the San Juan Islands. Image courtesy of NOAA.

Download the July 2013 report and related information:

Summary description

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northwest Region are concerned about the potential effects of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) on Puget Sound and Southern Resident killer whales.  In coordination with NMFS, EPA Region 10’s Office of Water and Watersheds hosted a series of technical workgroups during spring 2013 on the following topics:

  • PBDE removal efficiency in wastewater treatment plants
  • PBDE modeling in Puget Sound (fate, transport, and bioaccumulation)
  • The need to establish a PBDE toxicological threshold for Southern Resident killer whales
  • No Observed Effect Concentration (NOEC) levels of mixtures of persistent organic pollutants (including PCB and PBDE congeners)

EPA Region 10 hosted a policy forum on PBDEs and Southern Resident killer whales on June 6th, 2013.  The policy forum was the culmination of technical workgroups and provided an opportunity for senior level staff at the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), NMFS, the Puget Sound Partnership, and EPA to learn about and discuss the issues surrounding PBDEs in Puget Sound, especially as they relate to killer whales.  Workgroup participants included national PBDE experts, local wastewater treatment plant operators (King County and LOTT Clean Water Alliance) representatives from Ecology, NMFS and EPA, as well as Canadian researchers. 

Workgroup and policy forum participants acknowledge the need for additional monitoring of PBDEs and other flame retardants/persistent bioaccumulative toxics in Puget Sound. 

Discussions regarding a Puget Sound-wide monitoring program for PBDEs continued via the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program. With leadership from EPA and NMFS, the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program convened a sub-workgroup on PBDEs during Fall 2013.  See the report on PBDE Monitoring Recommendations.

Staff contact

Catherine Gockel  MS, MPA
Office of Water & Watersheds
EPA Region 10
206-553-0325