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High levels of pollutants in bay

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High concentrations of environmental pollutants known as dioxins have been found throughout Oakland Bay and Shelton Harbor, according to a sediment investigation report released by the Washington state Department of Ecology on Monday.

Ecology conducted the study on Oakland Bay in 2008, as part of the department's Toxic Cleanup Program focusing on Puget Sound.

The final analysis, which is available online for public comment, indicates that while several industrial contaminants measured below Ecology's management standards, high levels of the toxic chemicals known as dioxins and furans persisted throughout the entire area.

Additionally, toxicity failures likely associated with wood waste were found in Shelton Harbor and Oakland Bay, but not Hammersley Inlet.

Ecology is soliciting public comments on the report until January 21 and will host a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. next Wednesday, Dec. 15, at the Shelton Civic Center.

The focus of the meeting and cleanup efforts will likely be on dioxins, said John Konovsky, environmental program manager with the Squaxin Island Tribe, which has harvested shellfish in Oakland Bay for hundreds of years.

"It's an unusual situation," he said. "Usually with dioxins there's a small hotspot that you can clean up, but when you have widespread moderate concentrations, the question is 'What are you going to do?'"

Dioxin levels in surface sediments around Oakland Bay range from 1 to 175 parts per trillion (ppt), with some higher concentrations found in deeper sediments.

The typical level found in non-urban areas around Puget Sound is about 4 ppt.

While the Environmental Protection Agency characterizes dioxins as likely human carcinogens, the state Department of Health determined in 2009 that shellfish from Oakland Bay was fit for human consumption because "shellfish don't accumulate dioxins well," according to an Ecology press release.

"Based on site-specific exposure scenarios, Health determined that the levels of dioxins in Oakland Bay and Shelton Harbor sediments pose a very low human health threat," stated the release.

The sediment report coincides with the Squaxin Island Tribe's recently announced efforts with Simpson Timber Company and landowners to restore fish and wildlife habitat at Oakland Bay.

"It wasn't prompted [by the report], but there's a certain efficiency if we tackle both projects at the same time," Konovsky said. "So that caused us to step up our planning process."

Squaxin Island biologists and representatives from Simpson have committed to meeting several times early next year to look at and throw out ideas for restoration and cleanup, Konovsky said.

The relationship between the tribe and Simpson will hopefully extend to the other five public and private landowners around the harbor, according to a press release sent out by the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

"While Simpson owns a majority of the shoreline and tidelands, this partnership is incomplete without taking as much of the harbor into consideration as possible," said Simpson Vice President Dave McEntee in the release.

At this point, there are no specifics on what the restoration might entail, though one possibility could mean creating more gradual slopes along the shoreline to allow salt marsh plants to grow.

"We don't want to get ahead of the landowners, we want to go through a planning process with them to make sure that whatever options for improvement we can all agree on," Konovsky said. "This is a unique opportunity, and the willingness of Simpson and the other landowners to work on this is commendable."

To view the sediment report, visit: www.ecy.wa.gov/ biblio/1009116.html

"Usually with dioxins there's a small hotspot that you can clean up, but when you have widespread moderate concentrations, the question is 'What are you going to do?'"



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© 2011 Shelton-Mason County Journal Shelton, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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