Dioxin: A Community ChallengeBy Bob Van Schoorl Since 1922, the Port of Olympia’s working waterfront has brought trade and waterborne transportation to our community. When the Department of Ecology, the Port of Olympia and the Army Corps of Engineers discovered dioxins in Budd Inlet as part of preparation for routine maintenance dredging projects, the focus changed from providing safe, maritime access to “how do we clean-up Budd Inlet?” Fortunately, the Port was immediately joined in the clean-up partnership by the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE). Now it is time to bring in other community partners to develop a strategy to clean up our waterway. Most of us lack knowledge about dioxins. Dioxin is everywhere in the environment, and we consume minute quantities of dioxin in the food we eat and the air we breathe. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that most human dioxin exposure comes through eating food. Some dioxin occurs naturally; however, the primary sources appear to be incomplete combustion combined with chlorine. Dioxin comes from a lot of sources, including some industrial activities, stormwater runoff, agricultural runoff, municipal water treatment, incinerators, and pulp plants. There are number of credible websites that have information about dioxin. These include the National Academy of Science, the EPA, and DOE. A good starting point is a DOE Publication entitled “Hazards of Dioxins” available at: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0104010.pdf It is important that we understand what dioxins are, where and how they exist in our environment and food chain, and the challenge they present. We do not yet know the sources of the dioxin in Budd Inlet. DOE is currently testing to see how extensive the dioxins are within the Inlet. These tests will help our community determine the total extent of dioxin in Budd Inlet as well as the sources. How much dioxin is there in the sediments? About half the total sediments to be removed during the maintenance dredging of the federal navigation channel are below the tolerance levels for open-water disposal. This means that they can be employed for “beneficial uses” in Budd Inlet or deposited at the approved open-water disposal site. Most of the elevated dioxin levels were found in sediments near the Port docks. One of the Port’s engineers provided this perspective on the amount of dioxin contamination: The Port’s dockside dredge project will remove 40,000 cubic yards of sediment. That can be visualized as a cube 200 yards on each side — about two football fields. The amount of dioxin in those sediments would be less than a teaspoon of dioxin. In addition, the Port also tested for other chemicals in the berth area and turning basin. All 59 other chemicals tested fell below regulatory concern levels. That does not imply that Budd Inlet should not be cleaned up. The Port is actively working with state and federal agencies to determine the best course of action. At this point, the maintenance-dredging project will be phased. The first phase will remove the highest priority contaminated sediments near the docks and some clean sediment from parts of the federal navigation channel, returning these areas to their federally permitted depths. The Port is an advocate for activities that both clean up Puget Sound and protect the economic viability of public waterways. These initial efforts will be part of an on-going Inlet-wide strategy. The Port and DOE have worked together before on successful projects to remove contaminated sediments. Together, we will lead an effort that can be a model for Puget Sound, and we anticipate that other community partners will join us along the way. Governor Gregoire has articulated the vision in her Puget Sound Initiative. We are up to the challenge and invite you to become informed about the issues and join us in a community-wide effort to clean-up Budd Inlet. Bob Van Schoorl has served as Port Commissioner since 1994. He has lived in Olympia since 1979.
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