The Collaboration
Many regional/basin management programs (e.g., National Estuary Program) are actively working to address the presence and impacts of toxic contaminants in the environment. Work includes:
- Monitoring | to understand the presence and sources of different contaminants in the environment
- Research | to understand the effects of contaminant exposures on humans and wildlife, and the effectiveness of different mitigation/clean up methods
- Management | to reduce the amount of contamination in the environment
We are excited to convene groups of scientists, researchers, and managers who are actively involved in the work to share practical information, best practices, and lessons learned. This will help us all be more effective at reducing the effects of contaminants and, importantly, improve our ability to respond to future problematic compounds in the environment.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to learn more or get involved!
Meet the organizing committee
- Greg Allen, US EPA Chesapeake Bay Office (allen.greg@epa.gov)
- Doug Austin, US EPA Chesapeake Bay Office (austin.douglas@epa.gov)
- Will Hobbs, Washington State Department of Ecology (whob461@ECY.WA.GOV)
- Katrina Radach, Puget Sound Partnership (katrina.radach@psp.wa.gov)
- Joel Baker, University of Washington Puget Sound Institute (jebaker@uw.edu)
- Andy James, University of Washington Puget Sound Institute (jamesca@uw.edu)
- Marielle Larson, University of Washington Puget Sound Institute (marlars@uw.edu)
PCBs
Our initial focus will be on PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls) since they are an active issue in many regional management areas, we have built a breadth of experience and knowledge on their fate, transport, occurrence, and impacts, and clean up and management strategies have been developed. This provides a good base of knowledge and experience that we can share with one another.
PCB Symposium #3 – PCBs in Building Materials (November 1, 2023)
Join us on November 1, 2023 for a national discussion about managing PCBs in building materials.
The symposium takes place on November 1, from 9 am – 12:30 pm PT / 12 – 3:30 pm ET. The official start time is 9 am PT, but we hope you’ll join at 8:45 am PT for some informal networking.
PCB Symposium #2 – Source Identification & Tracking (June 15, 2023)
Thanks to everyone who joined the robust discussion on PCB source identification and tracking approaches. The symposium included three case studies about PCB source tracking in the Lower Beaver Dam Creek, San Francisco Bay, and the Newton Creek Superfund site.
Meeting Materials
Case studies
- Maryland’s PCB Source Trackdown Study in Lower Beaver Dam Creek with Elisabeth Green & Mark Mank, Maryland Department of the Environment
- PCB Studies and Source Tracking in San Francisco Bay with Jay Davis, San Francisco Estuary Institute
- PCB fingerprinting at the Newtown Creek Superfund Site with Lisa Rodenburg, Rutgers University
Additional materials
PCB Symposium #1 – PCB program overviews (January 24-25, 2023)
We hosted a cross program symposium on January 24 & 25, 2023 focused on sharing practical advice to help improve the cleanup and management of PCBs. Representatives from the Puget Sound, Chesapeake Bay, Spokane River, Delaware River, Great Lakes, and New Bedford Harbor shared:
- An overview of the status and trends of PCBs in their system including the process and criteria that was used to define the magnitude of the PCB issue.
- Remedial, management, and mitigation activities that have proven effective or that are priorities moving forward