King County at work preventing pollution in the Lower Duwamish Waterway

Finding and controlling sources of pollution in the Lower Duwamish Waterway area

King County has been working for decades to clean up the Lower Duwamish.

• Current County efforts
• King County's pollution source control studies

The County’s current efforts include

• Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Program (external link) - The County and its local partners have created the nation’s first program targeting consumer products a source of toxic chemicals.
• Industrial Waste Program  – The King County Industrial Waste Program assists hundreds of businesses and property owners in maintaining regulatory compliance and utilizing best practices to address hazardous waste, spills and potential contamination sources on their property.
• Business inspections – As part of the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Urban Waters Initiative (external link), King County has partnered to conduct more than 1000 business inspections to reduce pollution entering the waterway.
• Source Control Work Group – As a member of the interagency Source Control Work Group headed by the Washington State Department of Ecology, King County contributes to new contaminant studies and source control initiatives affecting the Lower Duwamish, and shares their findings with community stakeholders.

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King County's pollution source control studies

• King County Atmospheric Deposition Sampling 2005-07 (PAHs; PCBs; Phthalates)
  • Report (PDF file, 2MB)
• King County Sampling 2003-06 (Phthalates; Benzyl Alcohol)
  • Article (PDF file, 21KB)
  • Technical memorandum (PDF file, 1.9MB)
• King County International Airport Sampling 2006 (PAHs, PCBs, Phthalates, metals)
• Report (PDF file, 340KB)
• Phthalate studies
• Phthalate Source Study, 2003 - 2005
  Because the presence of phthalates in the environment is an emerging issue of national and international scope and is beyond any one agency's capability to solve, staff of King County and the City of Seattle joined with the City of Tacoma in 2003 to test various commonly used products and materials to help identify the source of these chemicals. For additional information, refer to the "Phthalate Source Study" in the following progress reports: 
  > June 2005 (pages 15-17; see documents and reports), Initial results of passive air deposition sampling ; 
  > January 2005 (pages 11-13; see documents and reports), Phthalate air monitoring -- sampling and analysis plan for passive air deposition sampling;
  > June 2004 (pages 16-20; see documents and reports), Report on products tested.
• King County participation, Sediment Phthalates Work Group (2007-08): The cities of Tacoma and Seattle, King County, Ecology, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency work together to better understand how phthalates are reaching Puget Sound sediments and what are the related impacts to humans and animals. The work group evaluated existing information regarding phthalate sediment concentrations, identify data gaps, and recommend possible short-term actions. It also described possible ways to address long-term issues.

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