Spokane River: Contaminants and Health

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Spokane River Contaminants and Health
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Public Health Risks

• Chemicals and Heavy Metals
• PCBs
• PBDEs
• Dioxins/Furans
• Metals
• Biological Hazards

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1. PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls)

• Spokane River does not meet WA human health
  criteria for PCBs in edible fish tissue
• Sources and pathways to the Spokane River
• City of Spokane stormwater (44)
• municipal and industrial discharges (20)
• and Little Spokane River (6)
• PCB loading from Idaho at the state line (30)

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2. PBDEs (Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers)

• Chemical additives used in everyday household
  products as flame retardants
• Sources and pathways to the Spokane River
• Can leach out of manufactured items and enter the
  air, soil and water
• Has been detected in sediment, storm water, and
  sewage from residential and industrial sources

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3. Dioxins/Furans

• Can be released into the air, soil, and water.
  Fish tissue sampling in the Spokane River showed
  elevated levels
• Sources and pathways to the Spokane River
• Byproduct of burning municipal waste, sludge,
  medical waste, and wood and cement kilns
• Byproduct of manufacturing herbicides and
  pulp/paper products

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4. Metals

• Lead, arsenic, cadmium and zinc are released as
  part of mining, milling and ore processing
• Sources and pathways to the Spokane River
• An estimated 100 million tons of mine wastes
  released in river from the Upper Coeur dAlene
  Basin in Idaho.
• Contaminants traveled downstream, moved through
  Lake Coeur dAlene and deposited in the Spokane
  River.

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Intestinal Microorganisms Shown to cause
gastroenteritis from recreational
water reportable

• Giardia
• Cryptosporidium
• Shigella
• Salmonella
• Hepatitis A
• Coxackie A and B
• Norwalk virus
• E.coli 0157H7 (also Leptospirosis)

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Other Microorganisms Found in the environment
which cause infections or diseases reportable

• Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• Schistosome cercarial
• Staphylococcus sp.
• Legionella sp.
• Naegleria fowleri
• Mycobacterium sp.
• Vibrio sp.

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Spokane River Clean Up and Restoration
Completed sites Pending sites Completed PCB Sites
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Environmental Public Health 1101 West College
Avenue, Spokane [phone] TDD
324-1464 Michael LaScuola 324-1574 mlascuola_at_spok
anecounty.org www.srhd.org