Campaigning for clean water and a healthy environment for humans and wildlife
March 28, 2025 at 6:00 am
By Amanda Zhou
Seattle Times staff reporter
For decades, toxic tire dust has choked coho salmon before they can spawn in their natal streams. Now, King County scientists say they have made a “potential breakthrough” in how to save them.
By Camila Domonoske, Jessica Yung, Rebecca Ramirez
November 20, 2024
For decades, Coho salmon were turning up dead in urban streams the Pacific Northwest. The salmon would stop swimming straight, and then die before they had a chance to spawn. Researchers worried that unless they figured out the cause, the species would eventually go extinct.
Continue reading “Why are so many Coho salmon dying? The answer might be in your tires”by Cathy Hamilton-Wissmer
November 1, 2024
In May 2024, our Safer Products for Washington team identified a new set of toxic chemicals in everyday consumer products. That’s important because it gives us an opportunity to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals and prevent their release into the environment. We want your feedback on the products we’ve identified as significant sources of these toxic chemicals.
Continue reading “From tires to nail polish, we’re studying a new round of consumer products with toxic chemicals”Ecology
October 29, 2024
In both the 2022 Supplemental Operating and 2023 Operating budgets, the Washington State Legislature provided funds to Ecology to work on issues related to 6PPD. As part of this work, the Legislature requested that Ecology provide a progress report on the Action Plan and Alternatives Assessment by December 31, 2024.
Continue reading “6PPD Action Plan and Alternatives Assessment – Progress Report and Recommendations”This new Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC) document provides information about 6PPD and 6PPDQ that can help inform future policies and regulations. The guide provides:
Read the report:
https://6ppd.itrcweb.org/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council
September, 2024
Posted: August 15, 2024
PowerPoint slide presentation from September 19th, 2024
WRIA-8 Salmon Recovery Council meeting
July 10, 2024
Department of Ecology
6PPD is a chemical that prevents automotive tires from degrading (i.e., breaking down) and helps them last longer. When 6PPD is exposed to air, it reacts with ozone to create 6PPD-quinone (also known as 6PPDQ). 6PPDQ is lethal to coho salmon and can contaminate water systems.
We work with Tribal and local governments, state and federal agencies, academic institutions, and industrial organizations to reduce the pollution and sources of 6PPDQ released from tires in Washington.
Article continues…
Department of Ecology
January 25, 2023
For over 20 years, scientists faced a toxic mystery: coho salmon returning to urban streams and rivers in the Puget Sound region were dying before they could lay their eggs. The culprit was unknown, but it seemed linked to toxic chemicals running off our roads and highways.
Continue reading “Saving Washington’s salmon from toxic tire dust”We’re proud of the community involvement that supports Ecology’s mission. State, regional, and local governmental, non-governmental, and private constituents join forces to provide advice and oversight to a variety of projects and programs.
Below you will find links to many of the boards, committees, task forces, and other groups we contribute to. For additional information about our partnerships, boards, and committees, please visit our partnerships and committees page on our main website, ecology.wa.gov.
Our Committees, Boards, and Workgroups index
Department of Health
331-673 • Revised November 1, 2021
In October 2017, the State Board of Health (board) accepted a petition from ten organizations to establish drinking water standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Board authority to adopt such standards comes under RCW 43.20.050(2), RCW 70.119.080(1), and RCW 70.142.010.
To support the board, the Washington Department of Health (department) released draft state action levels (SALs) for five PFAS in November 2019. These PFAS occur in Washington drinking water and had sufficient scientific information to recommend a value. We presented the draft rule language at stakeholder workshops and at numerous meetings with stakeholders. After evaluating the feedback from these events and from two public comment periods, we updated our technical document and lowered our recommendation for the PFBS SAL from 1,300 to 345 ng/L to better protect infants. We also revised the PFNA SAL from 14 to 9 ng/L based on new evidence of serum half-life in humans. The PFHxS SAL was revised slightly to correct our calculation of average maternal body weight used in the infant exposure model. The revised SAL values are part of the proposed rule being considered for adoption by the State Board of Health in 2021.
Continue reading “Recommended State Action Levels for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Drinking Water: Approach, Methods, and Supporting Information”