Puget Sound Toxics Assessment

In our state’s effort to restore and recover Puget Sound, the Washington State Department of Ecology, Puget Sound Partnership and other organizations launched a four-year project in 2006 called the Control of Toxic Chemicals in Puget Sound study.

The study was completed in three phases. It was designed to:

• Find out how toxic chemicals reach Puget Sound.
• Help set priorities for reducing the harm they cause.
• Recommend how resources might be directed to more effectively resolve some toxic contamination issues threatening Puget Sound.

The study primarily focused on how these toxic pollutants reach Puget Sound – especially surface runoff, groundwater discharge, atmospheric deposition, and wastewater treatment discharges. The study examined:

• Where the toxic chemicals come from.
• How much is being delivered to Puget Sound.
• The delivery pathways that contribute to toxic loads to Puget Sound.
• The relative importance of these chemicals based on their toxicity.

Synthesizing four years of work

Ecology recently published a compilation, or synthesis, of the different components of the toxic chemical study called the Assessment of Selected Toxic Chemicals in the Puget Sound Basin: 2007—2011. The Toxics Assessment:

• Incorporates new and more complete data about sources, loading, pathways, and hazards.
• Contains recommendations intended to help guide where resources might be directed.

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