Region 10 Cleanup: Lower Duwamish Waterway Serving the people of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and 270 Native Tribes Recent Additions | Contact Us | Print Version Search: EPA Home > Region 10 > Cleanup Sites > Lower Duwamish Waterway > Related Links

Region 10 Homepage Region 10 Cleanup Lower Duwamish Waterway Recursos en Español What You Can Do Information Sources Fact Sheets In The News Maps & Photos Decision Documents Technical Documents Controlling Pollution Related Links Cleanup Areas   Boeing EMF   Boeing Plant 2   Duwamish Diagonal   Jorgensen   Norfolk   Philip Georgetown   Rhone Poulenc   Slip 4   Terminal 117   Basin Oil Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Related Links Links listed here are published by independent organizations. Links to Web sites outside the U.S. EPA Web site are for the convenience of the user. The Standards of Ethical Conduct do not permit the U.S. EPA to endorse any private sector Web site, product, or service. The U.S. EPA does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at this location. This link is being provided consistent with the intended purpose of the EPA Web site. Click on the triangle to expand a heading and see more documents. Health Cleanup Technologies for Contaminated Sediment Contaminant Information There are many chemical contaminants in Duwamish sediment, fish, and shellfish. Most of the human health risk comes from the four chemicals discussed below. While each of these chemicals can be found throughout the Waterway, the largest amounts were found near industrial areas. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are manmade chemicals that were banned in the late 1970s. They stay in the environment for a long time and can build up in fish and shellfish. PCBs are known to impact the immune system and may cause cancer in people who have been exposed over a long time. Phthalates, sometimes called plasticizers, are chemicals that are often used in plastics manufacture. Although several studies in people have explored possible associations with developmental and reproductive outcomes more research is needed. Arsenic is naturally present at low levels in Puget Sound area rock and soil. Industrial activities have spread additional arsenic over much of the Puget Sound region. Long-term exposure to toxic forms of arsenic may cause skin, bladder, and other cancers. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are formed during the burning of substances such as coal, oil, gas, wood, garbage and tobacco and during the charbroiling of meat. Long periods of breathing, eating, or having skin contact with high levels of some of the PAHs may increase a person’s risk of cancer. Dioxins and furans (dioxins) are by-products of burning (either in natural or industrial settings), chemical manufacturing and metal processing. Dioxins last a long time in the environment and, like PCBs, can build up in fish and fatty foods. Specific toxic effects related to dioxins include reproductive problems, problems in fetal development or in early childhood, immune system damage, and cancer. Area Cleanup Work and Related Information from EPA Area Cleanup and Restoration Work and Related Information from EPA's Partners [ Main Cleanup | Brownfields ] [ Superfund | FOIA | Records Center ] Point of contact: Renee Dagseth E-Mail: dagseth.renee@epa.gov Phone Number: (206) 553-1889 Last Updated: 06/03/2009