Health Consultation: Summary of Results of the Duwamish Valley Regional Modeling and Health Risk Assessment. Seattle, Washington

摘要

Residents of Georgetown and South Park neighborhoods in south Seattle asked the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) to conduct an assessment of pollutant impacts on their health. DOH hired a consultant to model air emissions from multiple sources in south Seattle. The objective of the multiple source air modeling project in the Duwamish Valley was to identify air pollutants, key air pollution sources impacting residential areas of south Seattle, and the geographic areas of south Seattle that are impacted by air pollutants. This effort was not intended to be the final step of the assessment process, but an initial step to identify priorities for future work in the area. The purpose of this health consultation is to summarize key findings of the modeling effort while acknowledging the limitations of the work, and make recommendations for future actions. The Duwamish Valley is an industrial area located south of downtown Seattle, Washington along the Lower Duwamish Waterway. The Lower Duwamish Waterway was created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by straightening and dredging the Duwamish River to enable barge traffic. The majority of land use along the Duwamish Waterway and in the Duwamish Valley is commercial or industrial with the exception of the two residential communities of Georgetown and South Park (Figure 1).