Persistent contaminants

Persistent contaminants, also known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), are toxic chemicals that adversely affect human health and the environment around the world. They persist for long periods of time in the environment and can accumulate and pass from one species to the next through the food chain. 

Source: Environmental Protection Agency

Overview

Persistent contaminants in Puget Sound: Overcoming a toxic legacy

The Lower Duwamish Waterway in Puget Sound was designated a Superfund cleanup site in 2001. Its legacy of contamination predates World War II and the waterway continues to pollute Puget Sound through stormwater runoff.

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Lower Duwamish Waterway dredging on Superfund site. Photo: Gary Dean Austin (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/49648789@N08/17069420399/

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Stormwater flowing into catch basin carries contaminants to our waterways. Photo: Ben McLeod (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/benmcleod/420158390

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

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Don Malins examines a fish during a research trip to the Duwamish estuary. Photo circa 1987. Photographer unknown.

Toxics research that changed Puget Sound history

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