Residential Stormwater and the Contamination of Puget Sound

Presenter Information

Kirsten McLeod

Document Type

Oral Presentation

Campus where you would like to present

SURC 137A

Start Date

16-5-2013

End Date

16-5-2013

Abstract

This study is an examination of the effects of contaminants produced by under-regulated urbanization on ecosystems that support critical wildlife communities and the public health in the Puget Sound basin of Washington State. Residential stormwater runoff is the number one source of pollution in Puget Sound. My research examines the threat posed by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the Puget Sound basin. Every time it rains, millions of pollutants are washed off streets and other impervious surfaces and into our waterways. Developed areas send contaminated stormwater into streams, rivers, and groundwater that all empty into Puget Sound. There are numerous toxins of concern, however, the largest class of chemicals of greatest concern in Puget Sound is endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). EDCs encompass a variety of chemical classes that are pervasive in our everyday lives. EDCs are of deep concern because they are found everywhere: in beauty products, pesticides, pharmaceutical drugs and more. EDCs have been shown to significantly affect the endocrine system of organisms that ingest them, causing numerous adverse side effects including (but not limited to) genetic mutations, birth defects, and reproductive difficulties. The number of known endocrine disruptors that enter into the Puget Sound can be significantly reduced with new non-point source pollution regulatory controls. Current regulations to combat stormwater runoff in the Puget Sound are inadequate. At the end of my analysis, I make a policy recommendation and propose policy alternatives that implement various statutes, and application and enforcement of both the precautionary principle and product bans on the most prevalent and studied EDCs found in Puget Sound.

Faculty Mentor(s)

Rex Wirth

Additional Mentoring Department

Political Science

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May 16th, 1:50 PM May 16th, 2:10 PM

Residential Stormwater and the Contamination of Puget Sound

SURC 137A

This study is an examination of the effects of contaminants produced by under-regulated urbanization on ecosystems that support critical wildlife communities and the public health in the Puget Sound basin of Washington State. Residential stormwater runoff is the number one source of pollution in Puget Sound. My research examines the threat posed by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the Puget Sound basin. Every time it rains, millions of pollutants are washed off streets and other impervious surfaces and into our waterways. Developed areas send contaminated stormwater into streams, rivers, and groundwater that all empty into Puget Sound. There are numerous toxins of concern, however, the largest class of chemicals of greatest concern in Puget Sound is endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). EDCs encompass a variety of chemical classes that are pervasive in our everyday lives. EDCs are of deep concern because they are found everywhere: in beauty products, pesticides, pharmaceutical drugs and more. EDCs have been shown to significantly affect the endocrine system of organisms that ingest them, causing numerous adverse side effects including (but not limited to) genetic mutations, birth defects, and reproductive difficulties. The number of known endocrine disruptors that enter into the Puget Sound can be significantly reduced with new non-point source pollution regulatory controls. Current regulations to combat stormwater runoff in the Puget Sound are inadequate. At the end of my analysis, I make a policy recommendation and propose policy alternatives that implement various statutes, and application and enforcement of both the precautionary principle and product bans on the most prevalent and studied EDCs found in Puget Sound.