Programs & Events

Shoreline Stewardship Program Eelgrass Protection Program Workshops & Events Tribal Partnerships Anti-Litter Program

Shoreline Species & Habitats

Forage Fish Eelgrass Kelp Salmon Coastal Forests

Human Impacts

Shoreline Armoring Docks Clearing & Grading Stormwater Toxins in Our Water Voluntary Conservation Programs

There are many ways in which toxins are entering our everyday lives and polluting our water.  Recent findings show that it is not just industry causing toxin problems; it is everyday products that everyone uses.  These toxins include: surfactants, Emerging Contaminants (ECs), Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic substances (PBTs), and Heavy Metals.

Surfactants are wetting agents that lower the surface tension of a liquid.  The surfaces that are acted on by surfactants change their characteristics; this can have deadly impacts to organisms that live in water.  Surfactants are found in virtually any non-solid substance, including detergents,

shampoos, and soaps; in disinfectants, ointments and toothpaste; in herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers; in paints, and coatings for wood, metal and plastics; in gasoline, motor oils and antifreeze; and in packaged creamy foods.

In a 2002 USGS nationwide study, Emerging Contaminants (ECs) were detected in 80% of all water bodies in our country.  Today, this wide variety of chemicals is being detected in surface waters, wastewater, drinking water, groundwater and sediment throughout the Puget Sound region.  ECs include endocrine disrupting compounds (hormones), pharmaceutical and personal care products (sunscreen and insect repellants),

bactericides (anti-bacterial soap, non-prescription and prescription drugs) and PBDEs (flame retardants).  ECs that are a high threat to marine animals include common synthetic insecticides similar to natural pyrethrins derived from Chrysanthemum flowers and bactericides including disinfectants, antiseptics and antibiotics.  Essential oils are also harmful to marine animals and can be human endocrine disrupters. 

Pesticides, dioxins, lead, mercury, flame retardants, PCBs, PBDEs and PAHs are known as Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic substances or PBTs.  PBTs accumulate at higher concentrations in animals higher up the food chain because the body does not process them easily.

PBTs are toxic substances that can cause a wide range of health effects in fish, wildlife, and humans.  They have been linked to effects on the nervous system, reproductive and developmental problems, immune-response suppression, cancer, and endocrine disruption.  Locally PBTs threaten our endangered Southern Resident Orcas. 

Lead, zinc, copper, mercury, cadmium, arsenic are some of the heavy metals commonly used in industry.  Some of them are also present in building materials, makeup, and cars.  Heavy metals are toxic and accumulate in the body and environment.  They harm humans as well as marine life. 

Waste water treatment systems are not designed to remove most of these contaminants, so they continue to flow down through our watersheds to the next town and out to the sea.  Also, stormwater drains do not treat or filter they water they carry so they dump directly into the ocean or rivers carrying all the pollutants they pick up along the way.

Most of us use chemical products daily, adding to the toxic load in our waters.  It is time to re-think the products we purchase and to treat our water resources more wisely.