Toxic Materials Leaching From Port Angeles Dump Exceed Acute Salt Water Levels by State Standards
Dry Creek Coalition collected drainage from Strait at very low tide 3 June 2008.
Chemical analysis by certified laboratory reveals extreme concentrations of Copper, Lead and Zinc: all toxic to marine life. Other metals: Antimony, Chromium, and Mercury are very elevated when compared to our control sample from Freshwater Bay, FB-3.
Sample team noted total lack of marine life in the retaing wall area and the area of the mouth of Dry Creek at the Port Angeles Dump.
Control sample from Freshwater Bay, FB-3, served as a control or standard for comparison with toxic metal concentrations leaching from the Port Angeles Dump.
At a very low tide on 3 June 2008, three members of the Dry Creek Coalition took a sample of running water approximately 150 yards offshore of the PA Dump retaining wall. This running water was coming from the retaining wall at the dump and running around huge masses of fused garbage materials lying offshore. That sample is DW-1, see attachment below. Analysis of DW-1 shows massive amounts of very toxic inorganic metals by DOE saltwater standards. Sample DC-2 was taken from water running from the mouth of Dry Creek at a location approximately 100 yards offshore and approximately 200 yards West of the retaining wall.
The following is a table of standards for toxic metals in salt water cited by Washington State DOE
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=173-201A-240
Dry Creek Coalition presented a package of Port Angeles Dump information generated over the past four (4) years and a five minute presentation to the seven councilpersons on 8 May 2008, in Council Chambers. We emphasized that marine life is all but missing offshore the dump and that we would conduct chemical tests at the next low tide for INORGANIC METALS. Our testimony is the next attachment.
The Dry Creek Coalition did NOT test for organic leachate coming from the dump. This is an open issue.
The Coalition has asserted for several years that the design of test wells for sampling any dump leachate would and could not show any materials being leached from the unlined garbage. The design of the new retaining wall sample wells preserves that inability to make true sampling for toxic leachates.
We feel that continued inaction by DOE and the City of Port Angeles in removing the garbage in the unlined dump (1,000,000 cu yds) perpetuates contamination and poisoning of the entire Strait and Puget Sound water system. We are exploring resolution in Federal District Court under the Federal Clean Water Act at this time.
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