By: Stephanie Teien
Image: the Spokane River at Millwood by Sagebrush Photography.
The Spokane River contains the highest amount of flame retardant pollution in Washington state. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently found dangerous levels of PBDEs in the river's fish. These chemicals are linked to nervous system damage and developmental problems in animals.
Flame retardants bioaccumulate through the food chain and have been discovered in the tissue of people throughout the U.S. These chemicals are in many manufactured items including carpet, mattresses, clothes, and electronics. No definitive medical conclusions about effects on humans have been made, but PBDEs were officially banned throughout Washington in January 2009.
Now experts are looking for the source of these and many other contaminants in the Spokane River. In 2007, Washington's state legislature funded a $2.1 million program called the Urban Waters Initiative to monitor pollution in the Spokane River, Commencement Bay, and the Duwamish River.
The Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) and the Spokane Regional Health District began sending inspectors out in July 2008 to look for sources of contaminants in the river.
Cathy Cochrane, the communications manager for the Washington DOE eastern region office, said resource specialists target small businesses such as service stations and auto repair shops to teach them how to store and contain chemical waste so it won't escape into the river.
"Larger businesses are already inspected and have to report to Ecology about how much [toxic waste] they produce," she said. "We want to inspect small businesses on a continuing basis and consult with them about how to properly store chemicals."
Program inspectors sample water in sewer and stormwater drains to locate where the pollution is coming from. Manufacturing plants and steel mills are a well-known contributor, but experts want to prevent the continuing escape of contaminants carried into the river from other places that may have been overlooked.
The main pollutants inspectors are looking for are PBDEs, PCBs, dioxins, furans, and heavy metals. The EPA named these chemicals among the main priorities for reduction along the Columbia River Basin.
Cochrane said there are no definitive results from the Spokane River research yet, but she believes progress is being made.
"It's an educational campaign where we want to work together to figure out ways to trace [pollution] down," she said. "I think people want to do the right thing, they just have to make the connection between their drain and the river."
The Urban Waters research team's results are expected within the year.
LINKS:
To read about the Urban Waters Initiative program go to: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0709044.html
For more information about PBDEs visit: http://nwpublicmedia.typepad.com/our_northwest_water/polybrominated-diphenyl-ether-or-pbdes-areflame-retardants-used-in-many-products-including-computers-furniture-electronic.html
PCBs: http://nwpublicmedia.typepad.com/our_northwest_water/polychlorinated-biphenyls.html
Dioxins and Furans: http://nwpublicmedia.typepad.com/our_northwest_water/2009/02/dioxins-and-furans.html
Heavy Metals:
http://nwpublicmedia.typepad.com/our_northwest_water/arsenic-an-odorless-tasteless-semi-metalelement-used-in-agricultural-and-industrial-processes-and-enters-environment-throu.html
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