Listing of Contaminant Studies in the Salish Sea
The tables below include a listing of some of the scientific contaminant studies conducted in the Salish Sea.
- Long-term monitoring studies use consistent methods to look at the same contaminants over time, measuring for changes in concentrations.
- Contaminant-focused monitoring studies, or focal studies, collect information over a shorter period of time, to investigate more specific questions such as differences in contaminant levels associated with various land uses (e.g. urban, industrial, or forested areas).
| Contaminant | Area | Species | Sample Type | Period | Reported Trend | Author(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metals | Salish Sea | Bivalve mollusks | Soft tissue | 1986-2007 | Decline overall (a few urban sites of concern). | Kimbrough, et al. (2008) |
| Metals | Georgia Basin | Freshwater fishes | Tissue | 2004-2012 | No overall trends detected. | ENKON (2012) |
| Metals | Georgia Basin | Peamouth chub | Muscle; whole body samples | 2004-2012 | Stable | ENKON (2012) |
| Metals | Puget Sound | Native mussels | Tissue | 2015-2018 | Highest concentrations in urban bays. | Langness, et al. (2020) |
| PCBs | Salish Sea | Harbor seal | Blubber | 1983-2003 | Decline | Ross, et al. (2013) |
| PCBs | Salish Sea | Bivalve molluscs | Soft tissue | 1986-2007 | Decline | Kimbrough, et al. (2008) |
| PCBs | Puget Sound | Pacific herring | Whole-body samples | 1994-2014 | Decline (in a low-development basin), high concentrations and stable (in an urbanized basin). | West, et al. (2017) |
| PCBs | Puget Sound | English sole | Skin-off muscle samples | 1997-2015 | Stable (in many basins; increasing in some). | West, et al. (2017) |
| PCBs | Georgia Basin | River otters | Scat | 1998-2010 | Decline | Huang, et al. (2018) |
| PCBs | Georgia Basin | Peamouth chub | Muscle, whole-body samples | 2004-2012 | Decline | ENKON (2012) |
| PCBs | Georgia Basin | Largescale sucker | Whole-body samples | 2007-2013 | Decline | ENKON (2012) |
| PCBs | Puget Sound | Native mussels | Soft tissue | 2015-2018 | Higher median concentrations over study. | Langness, et al. (2020) |
| PBDEs | Salish Sea | Double-crested cormorant | Eggs | 1979-2012 | Increase to to peak in 1994, then decrease after 2000. | Elliott, et al. (2005) Miller, et al. (2015a) |
| PBDEs | Salish Sea | Great blue heron | Eggs | 1983-2012 | Increase to peak in 1994, then decrease. | Elliott, et al. (2005) Miller, et al. (2015a) |
| PBDEs | Salish Sea | Harbor seal | Blubber | 1983-2003 | Decline | Ross, et al. (2013) |
| PBDEs | Puget Sound | Pacific herring | Whole-body samples | 1994-2014 | Decline | West, et al. (2017) |
| PBDEs | Puget Sound | Bivalve molluscs | Soft tissue | 1996-2007 | Stable overall. | Kimbrough, et al. (2009) |
| PBDEs | Puget Sound | English sole | Skin-off muscle samples | 1997-2015 | Decline overall. | West, et al. (2017) |
| PBDEs | Georgia Basin | Peamouth chub | Muscle, whole-body samples | 2004-2012 | Stable | ENKON (2012) |
| PBDEs | Georgia Basin | Largescale sucker | Whole-body samples | 2007-2013 | Stable | ENKON (2012) |
| PBDEs | Puget Sound | Native mussels | Soft tissue | 2015-2018 | Slightly lower over time. | Langness, et al. (2020) |
| DDT | Salish Sea | Bivalve molluscs | Soft tissue | 1986-2009 | Decline | Kimbrough, et al. (2008) Sericano, et al. (2014) |
| DDT | Puget Sound | Pacific herring | Whole-body samples | 1994-2014 | Decline | West, et al. (2017) |
| DDT | Puget Sound | English sole | Skin-off muscle samples | 1997-2015 | Decline overall. | West, et al. (2017) |
| DDT | Georgia Basin | Peamouth chub | Muscle, whole-body samples | 2004-2012 | Stable | ENKON (2012) |
| DDT | Georgia Basin | Largescale sucker | Whole-body samples | 2007-2013 | Stable | ENKON (2012) |
| DDT | Puget Sound | Native mussels | Soft tissue | 2015-2018 | Higher median concentrations over study. | Langness, et al. (2020) |
| PAHs | Salish Sea | Bivalve molluscs | Soft tissue | 1986-2007 | Decline | Kimbrough, et al. (2008) |
| PAHs | Georgia Basin | Peamouth chub | Muscle | 2007-2012 | Detected during final phase of study. | ENKON (2012) |
| PAHs | Salish Sea | Orca | Scat | 2010-2013 | No trend; considered baseline data. | Lundin, et al. (2018) |
| PAHs | Puget Sound | Native mussels | Soft tissue | 2015-2018 | Slightly higher over time. | Langness, et al. (2020) |
| Other (PCDEs, PCNs) | Salish Sea | Harbor seal | Blubber | 1983-2003 | Decline | Ross, et al. (2013) |
| Other (pesticides) | Salish Sea | Bivalve molluscs | Soft tissue | 1986-2007 | Decline | Kimbrough, et al. (2008) |
| Other (dioxins/furans) | Georgia Basin | Peamouth chub | Muscle, whole-body samples | 2004-2012 | Decline in some areas. | ENKON (2012) |
| Other (PFAS) | Salish Sea | Aquatic birds | Egg | 1990-2011 | Species differences in concentrations; higher concentrations in urban areas. |
Miller, et al. (2015b) |
| Contaminant | Area | Species | Sample Type | Period | Finding | Author(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metals | Georgia Basin | English sole | Muscle; whole body samples | 2007 | Some metal concentrations elevated at sites. | Nautilis (2009) |
| Metals | Puget Sound | Chinook salmon | Composite tissues | 2013 | Metals exposure varies greatly among locations. | O'Neill, et al (2015) |
| Metals | Puget Sound | Harbor seals | Liver | 2009-2012 | Age-related effects; regional differences. | Ashley, et al. (2020) |
| Metals | Georgia Basin | Pacific herring | Muscle | 2016 | Different lead uptake than in other parts of B.C. | Li, et al. (2020) |
| PCBs | Georgia Basin | English sole | Muscle, whole-body samples | 2007 | Variation among sites. | Nautilis (2009) |
| PCBs | Georgia Basin | Stellar's sea lions | Blubber | 2005-2006 | Confirmed biomagnification between life stages. | Alava, et al. (2012) |
| PCBs | Georgia Basin | Plankton | Whole-body samples | 2005-2006 | Seasonal differences in uptake. | Frouin, et al. (2013) |
| PCBs | Puget Sound | Chinook salmon | Composite tissues | 2013 | PCB concentrations elevated in more developed areas. | O'Neill, et al. (2015) |
| PCBs | Salish Sea | Orca | Blubber, scat | 2010-2013 | Decline in concentration as Chinook salmon prey abundance increased. | Lundlin, et al. (2016) |
| PCBs | Puget Sound | Steelhead smolts | Gutted whole-body samples | 2014 | PCB concentrations rose with smolt length. | Chen, et al. (2018) |
| PCBs | Puget Sound | Chinook salmon | Gutted whole-body samples | 2016 | Differences between hatchery-origin and wild fish, differences among collection sites. | O'Neill, et al. (2020) |
| PBDEs | Georgia Basin | English sole | Muscle, whole-body samples | 2007 | Spatial pattern with elevated concentrations at one site. | Nautilis (2009) |
| PBDEs | Georgia Basin | Stellar's sea lions | Blubber | 2005-2006 | Confirmed biomagnification between life stages. | Alava, et al. (2012) |
| PBDEs | Georgia Basin | Plankton | Whole-body samples | 2005-2006 | Seasonal differences in uptake. | Frouin, et al. (2013) |
| PBDEs | Puget Sound | Chinook salmon | Composite tissue | 2013 | PBDEs elevated in a few locations. | O'Neill, et al. (2015) |
| PBDEs | Salish Sea | Orca | Blubber, scat | 2010-2013 | Decline in concentration as Chinook salmon prey abundance increased. | Lundlin, et al. (2016) |
| PBDEs | Puget Sound | Steelhead smolts | Gutted whole-body samples | 2014 | PBDE concentrations showed relationship to location, not smolt length. | Chen, et al. (2018) |
| PBDEs | Puget Sound | Chinook salmon | Gutted whole-body samples | 2016 | Differences between hatchery-origin and wild fish, differences among collection sites with PBDEs elevated in wild fish near waste water treatment discharges. | O'Neill, et al. (2020) |
| DDT | Georgia Basin | English sole | Muscle, whole-body samples | 2007 | Some concentrations elevated at sites, decreased compared to historic studies. | Nautilis (2009) |
| DDT | Puget Sound | Chinook salmon | Composite tissue | 2013 | DDT concentrations quite low with slight elevation in more developed areas. | O'Neill, et al. (2015) |
| DDT | Salish Sea | Orca | Blubber, scat | 2010-2013 | Decline in concentration as Chinook salmon prey abundance increased. | Lundlin, et al. (2016) |
| DDT | Puget Sound | Steelhead smolts | Gutted whole-body samples | 2014 | DDT concentrations rose with smolt length. | Chen, et al. (2018) |
| DDT | Puget Sound | Chinook salmon | Gutted whole-body samples | 2016 | Concentrations related to fish size and origin. | O'Neill, et al. (2020) |
| PAHs | Georgia Basin | English sole | Muscle, whole-body samples | 2007 | Low concentrations detected. | Nautilis (2009) |
| PAHs | Puget Sound | Chinook salmon | Composite tissue | 2013 | PAHs elevated in more developed areas. | O'Neill, et al. (2015) |
| PAHs | Puget Sound | Butter clams | Homogenized tissue | No date | Variability at different beaches but related to concentrations detected for site pore water. | Minick, et al. (2019) |
| PAHs | Puget Sound | Pacific herring | Embryos | 2013-2015 | Embryos incubating near sources have increased concentrations. | West, et al. (2019) |
| Microplastics | Georgia Basin | Manila clams | Soft tissue | No date | No difference in counts between aquaculture sites and non-aquaculture sites. | Davidson and Dudas (2016) |
| Microplastics | Georgia Basin | Chinook salmon juveniles | Stomach contents | 2015 | No relationship between microplastic content of fish and the ambient concentration in water. | Collicutt, et al. (2019) |
| Microplastics | Salish Sea | Pacific sand lance | Stomach contents | 2015-2016 | No fibers in first study year but they were present in the second. | Hipfner, et al. (2018) |
| Microplastics | Salish Sea | Pacific herring | Stomach contents | 2015-2016 | No fibers in first study year but they were present in the second. | Hipfner, et al. (2018) |
| Microplastics | Georgia Basin | Pacific oysters | Soft tissue | 2016 | No difference in counts between aquaculture sites and non-aquaculture sites. | Covernton, et al. (2019) |
| Microplastics | Salish Sea | Pacific oysters | Soft tissue | 2018 | While low amounts of microplastics were found, the polymer sources were highly variable. | Martinelli, et al. (2020) |
| Other (dioxins/furans) | Georgia Basin | English sole | Muscle, whole-body samples | 2007 | Spatial pattern with elevated concentrations on eastern sites. | Nautilis (2009) |
| Other (150 CECs) | Puget Sound | Chinook salmon juveniles | Whole-body samples | 2014 | CECs in juvenile Chinook salmon detected at a greater frequency and higher concentrations than staghorn sculpin. | Meador, et al. (2016) |
| Other (150 CECs) | Puget Sound | Staghorn sculpins | Whole-body samples | 2014 | Comparison between 2 effluent sites showed similar concentrations and frequencies of occurrence for detected CECs. | Meador, et al. (2016) |
| Other (pharmaceuticals, personal care products) | Georgia Basin | Horse mussel | Soft tissue | 2015 | Concentrations declined with distance from municipal wastewater effluent diffuser. | Krogh, et al. (2017) |
| Other (pharmaceuticals, personal care products) | Georgia Basin | Benthic biota | Homogenized samples | 2015 | 2 samples of 60 each had measurable concentrations of one of 12 analytes; most compounds not detected. | Krogh, et al. (2017) |
| Other (alkylphenols, pharmaceuticals, PFOSA, pesticides) | Salish Sea | Bay mussels | Composite site samples | 2012-2013 | Confirmed exposure to a wide range of emerging contaminants, at low concentrations. | James, et al. (2020) |