Toxic contaminants

Toxic contaminants have been released into the Puget Sound and its watersheds for decades by human activities. Concern over the possible harmful effects of these pollutants in the ecosystem led to the creation of Washington’s Pollution Control Commission in 1945, almost 30 years before the federal Clean Water Act. The Puget Sound Water Quality Authority was established in 1985 to address pressing water quality issues, and by 1989 monitoring and assessment of water quality in Puget Sound had begun with the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program (PSAMP). Scientists continue to monitor a variety of toxic contaminants in Puget Sound ranging from persistent contaminants such as PCBs and flame retardants to lesser known Contaminants of Emerging Concern. 

-- Source: Puget Sound Science Review

Overview

Toxics in Fish Implementation Strategy

The Toxics in Fish Implementation Strategy is a recovery plan that will guide funding and activities to reduce the impacts of toxics contaminants on marine fish and the humans that consume them. A final version of the plan was published in May 2021.

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The Puget Sound Partnership's list of Puget Sound 'Vital Signs'

Related Articles

Phytoplankton collected in a jar carry toxic chemicals they picked up from Puget Sound. Photo: WDFW

Suspended marine pollutants more likely to enter food web

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Salmon. Photo: Dan Hershman (CC BY-NC 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/hershman/497293505

Contaminants of emerging concern in a large temperate estuary

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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

Stormwater facts

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Sucralose, an artificial sweetener, is a good tracer of wastewater. It is present at low levels throughout the Puget Sound [1].

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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/

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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Framework for prioritizing monitoring of CECs in the Pacific Northwest

The Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSEMP), along with partners from the US EPA Columbia River Program and USGS Oregon Water Science Center, have developed a framework for prioritizing monitoring of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) in the Pacific Northwest.

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