Announcements. Contaminants in Puget Sound. Pollution principles. Contaminant Sources. End of next week: Sources, fates and effects

Transcription

1 Announcements End of next week: Updated resume Cover letter Two-page report on one graduate school and one environmental consulting firm or environmental agency Meetings with research groups Today: Contaminants in Puget Sound Tomorrow: Bates et al. paper Contaminants in Puget Sound Sources, fates and effects Pollution principles Sources What are the major sources of pollutants to Puget Sound? Fates Where do the contaminants go? Circulation important, among other processes Effects What s the big deal? Contaminant Sources Pulp Mills (largely historical) Sewage Dumping Non-Point Sources Atmosphere Agriculture Runoff Groundwater Historical polluters in Puget Sound (pulp mills) 1

2 Puget Sound Pulp and Paper, Everett, WA 1899 Georgia-Pacific Pulp and Paper Mill Bellingham, WA West Point Wastewater Treatment Plant West Point Wastewater Treatment Process 2

3 CSO systems in Puget Sound Current major polluters City of Anacortes City of Bellingham Bremerton City of Everett City of Mount Vernon Metropolitan King County (West Point) Snohomish City of Olympia City of Port Angeles City of Seattle In 2007, Seattle's system overflowed 249 times and King County's system overflowed 87 times. Contaminant dumping Contaminated sediment in Canadian waters. In PS, dumping confined to dredged spoils released in the open waters of the main channel between Tacoma and Seattle. 1.3 million cubic meters of dredge spoils per year Current dumping laws prohibit release of contaminated sediments Examples of historic contamination Copper, Zinc, Lead, Antimony and Arsenic: ASARCO smelter (1889 to 1980). Commencement Bay now one of the greatest "mixed chemical" contaminated sites on the west coast. Mercury from Chlori-alkali Production: Bellingham Bay among the most mercury-laden sites in the world. Organo-Tins from Antifouling Paints: Tributyltin (TBT) used from 1960's 's to coat salmon farm pens and boat hulls and still used "slow-release" paints on military vessels. West side of Bainbridge Island. PCB's: In 1974, 720 kg of Arochlor 1242 was accidentally released into the Duwamish River Estuary near Harbor Island. The most highly contaminated PCB spot in the Pacific Northwest. Oil: Primary sources of oil are street runoff, inappropriately disposed materials, oil released by motor boat enthusiasts and commercial watermen during boat engine maintenance and operation. Eagle Harbor site of an old creosote plant is still highly contaminated. 3

4 Legacy of contamination in PS Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island PS region has 26 superfund sites, but no $ for cleanup Formerly Wyckoff wood-treatment facility (creosote leakage) Atmospheric input Puget Sound air arrives from the Pacific very clean Air pollution within PS basin can be an important pathway to deliver contaminants to PS Pollutants - volatile organic compounds from automobile exhaust (primary source) Evaporation from fuels, paints etc. (2 nd most important) incomplete combustion of wood and coal, Most material is deposited into a watershed by precipitation and enters PS indirectly. Atmosphere is primary source of PAH and PBDE Other nonpoint sources Nutrient delivery from farmlands Pesticide transport from farmlands via small streams and rivers. Chlorinated or fluorinated organics from small chemical plants Organic wastes from leaky or poorly-maintained septic systems (several very bad facilities). Hydrocarbons released by leaky storage tanks, at gasoline stations and in people s yards/garages. Pollutants washed into storm drains typically are transported directly to rivers and to PS, receiving no treatment Runoff from land - primary source for most contaminants entering Puget Sound (Hart-Crowser 2007) 4

5 Hart-Crowser 2007 Fate of contaminants What are the primary fates of heavy metals and organic contaminants in marine waters? Sorption onto particles Bioaccumulation Particle distributions Particle concentration peaks in summer in Main Basin Particle concentrations in Main Basin highest at surface and at depth. Mostly mineral near bottom (why?) Dec 80 Mar 82 (Feely et al., 1986) 5

6 Particle composition Particles in Whidbey Basin mostly mineral Higher % POM in deep water, lower % POM near surface and near bottom in Whidbey basin Metal scavenging Surface-active metals are trapped in main basin 99% of organic pollutants are trapped 95% of arsenic is trapped 80% of lead is trapped 40-70% of Cu and Zn are trapped Paulson et al The impact of scavenging on trace metal budgets in Puget Sound. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 52: Zn scavenging in PS Where do contaminants wind up? Northern Puget Sound to Blaine Stations with heavy metals exceeding sediment quality criteria Paulson et al.,

7 Northern Puget Sound to Blaine Stations with PCBs and pesticides exceeding sediment quality criteria DOE (2002) Central Puget Sound Stations with chemical contaminants exceeding sediment quality criteria Pollution effects Southern Puget Sound Stations with chemical contaminants exceeding sediment quality criteria Ecosystem function Risk to sensitive species Risk to human health 7

8 Pulp mill waste and eelgrass PCBs in English sole livers From Elliott et al Contaminants in Orca Southern resident Orca listed under ESA in 2005 Salmon in southern Puget Sound have higher PCB load and lower lipid content Southern resident Orca carry higher burdens of PCB Concentrations in Southern resident Orca higher concentrations known to cause endocrine disruption in seals Polychlorinated biphenyls polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins polychlorinated dibenzofurans Summary of pollution sources, fates, effects Primary sources today: historical, runoff Primary fate of most contaminants: sorption onto particles, small fraction flushed from Puget Sound Effects: Organic contaminants affect entire food chain, especially at highest trophic levels POP concentrations in humans in PNW linked to dietary fish intake. Data from Ross et al. 2000, Mar. Poll. Bull. 8