Reconnaissance Survey of Environmental Conditions in 13 Puget Sound Locations, 1988. Puget Sound Estuary Program

摘要

In the spring of 1988 a reconnaissance survey in non-urban bays and areas of Puget Sound was conducted. The objective was to characterize sediment quality, fish tissue chemistry, and fish disease to identify potential contamination problems in these areas. The survey focused on four bays (Dyes Inlet, Gig Harbor, Port Angeles Harbor, and Oak Harbor) which have not been examined extensively for contamination problems but which may be affected by contamination from local industry, marinas, sewage outfalls and military bases. Fish were also collected from nine additional areas for chemical analyses. The survey indicated the health of the areas sampled in Puget Sound was good. In the four non-urban bays where sediments were tested for chemicals, generally low concentrations were detected although anthropogenic sources cause contamination in these bays to be elevated compared to rural reference bays. A survey for 20 pesticides that are in current use in the Puget Sound area indicated that a few were detected at low levels in some locations.