Publication Summary

A Class II Inspection was conducted at the Weyerhaeuser Paper Company Plant in Cosmopolis on May 28-31, 1991. The effluent from the 001 outfall met NPDES permit limits although the Ecology analytical result for BOD (qualified as estimated) was slightly greater than the monthly limit. No dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) was detected in the effluent. Dissolved organic halides (DOX) was found in concentrations above the monthly maximum permit limit, effective 1995. Bioassay organism sensitivity to effluent and runoff samples was variable. Outfall 001 effluent showed toxic effects at various levels to fathead minnow, echinoderm, and bivalve larvae.

A Class II Inspection was conducted at the Weyerhaeuser Paper Company Plant in Cosmopolis on May 28-31, 1991. The effluent from the 001 outfall met NPDES permit limits although the Ecology analytical result for BOD (qualified as estimated) was slightly greater than the monthly limit. No dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) was detected in the effluent. Dissolved organic halides (DOX) was found in concentrations above the monthly maximum permit limit, effective 1995. Bioassay organism sensitivity to effluent and runoff samples was variable. Outfall 001 effluent showed toxic effects at various levels to fathead minnow, echinoderm, and bivalve larvae.

The effluent from outfall 002 met all NPDES permit limits. Samples collected from runoff near the production facilities and from ditches draining the area near the lagoons were of generally acceptable water quality.

Sediments from Grays Harbor contained dioxins and furans in low concentrations, and organics and metals in concentrations below criteria. Rhepoxinius, echinoderm embryo, and Microtox bioassays revealed toxic effects from Sediment-1 (near the outfall). The echinoderm embryo test also demonstrated some toxic effects from Sediment-3 (the background sample).