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Toxic chemicals are commonly found in our aquatic and marine environments. Monitoring efforts have found chemicals in water, sediment, and fish tissue at levels high enough to threaten the health of humans, wildlife, and fish in locations throughout the state. Many of these chemicals accumulate in animals and plants which can result in various health effects such as reproductive abnormalities, neurological problems, and behavioral changes.
Ecology's Environmental Assessment Program conducts monitoring to evaluate the occurrences and risks from toxic chemicals in Washington's environment. Monitoring also provides the foundation from which actions can be taken to reduce the presence and risks from these toxic chemicals.
Figure: Distribution of PCB levels found in Washington’s freshwater fish. See the Washington State Toxics Monitoring Program: Toxic Contaminants in Fish Tissue from Freshwater Environments in 2006 for more information on mercury, PCBs, and other contaminants in freshwater fish tissue.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
