The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) listed the Lower Duwamish River–a five-mile stretch through South Seattle–as a federalSuperfund site in 2001. The Superfund List is a roster of the most contaminated sites in the country.
The key issues of the Lower Duwamish include:
- The Duwamish sediments contain a “toxic stew” of industrial carcinogens like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); oil and other hydrocarbons; mercury, lead, and other heavy metals; dioxin; pesticides; arsenic; and even raw sewage.
- PCBs are found in nearly all salmon in the River.
- Many of these pollutants have the potential to pose serious health risks by building up in the tissues of fish and shellfish, and passing through the food chain to eagles, seals, Orcas, and people. People who regularly eat fish and crab from the River are at the greatest risk through their diet. Concentrated toxins also occur in some Duwamish river-bottom mud and people should avoid daily contact.
While thousands of salmon still return to the river and restoration efforts are slowly rebuilding pockets of habitat, historical and ongoing pollution threatens a full recovery. Because of the serious health concerns, EPA is requiring extensive studies of the risks to people, fish and wildlife and will require the major contributors to the pollution to pay for its cleanup.
It is very important that the public is involved early in these important decisions! The cleanup plan that’s being negotiated is called the “Feasibility Study.” All of the major stages of the cleanup, including the local Early Action cleanup sites such as Terminal 117 and Boeing Plant 2, have been reviewed by the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/Technical Advisory Group and its Community Advisory Group*
Major issues highlighted by the Community Advisory Group include:
-ensuring key decisions are made with adequate public participation
- making sure sampling procedures and risk assessments are used that are protective of human health and all species that live in and around the Duwamish
- avoiding recontamination from upland contamination, storm water runoff and ongoing industrial discharges
DRCC/TAG staff and technical advisors regularly attend South Park Neighborhood Association meetings, as well as partner with local organizations like the South Park Info Center, the Community Center, and Concord School.
For more information contact:
Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/TAG: 206-954-0218 or contact@duwamishcleanup.org
Renee Dagseth (dagseth.renee@epa.gov)
US EPA
Community Involvement Coordinator
(206) 553-1889
Dan Cargill (daca461@ecy.wa.gov)
Toxics Cleanup Program
Department of Ecology
425-649-7023
All documents are available for comment and review at the following locations:
South Park Library, 8604 Eighth Ave. S., Seattle, 98108
EPA Region 10 Records Center, 1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, 98101
Documents are also available on the EPA’s Lower Duwamish Superfund site: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/cleanup.nsf/sites/lduwamish
Comment from Arielle Fontaine
Time January 17, 2011 at 10:59 am
Hello,
I was wondering when the next public meeting for the Duwamish River cleanup would take place. I have been browsing through the web and unfortunately could not find a calendar with the up coming dates. Would you be able to let me know if such a calendar is available.
Thank you very much
Kind regards,
Arielle