Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Kevin Nortz / The Herald "I'm looking for the perfect specimen," says Nancy McDonald of Edmonds as she scrapes blue mussels off rocks on the Mukilteo beach. Snohomish County Marine Resources Committee volunteers helped NOAA harvest mussels in order to help researchers, who use the mussels' tissue samples to gauge the amount of contaminants in the water.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, October 1, 2007 These mussels tell a story Shellfish show what pollutants are in water By Lukas Velush Herald Writer Mussels that cling to rocks along the shores of Puget Sound tell stories about what pollutants are floating in the water, from motor oil to pesticides to fire retardants. They're so good at filtering poisonous chemicals out of the water that federal researchers use them to gauge the amount of pollution in water bodies across the country, including in Puget Sound. Along Snohomish County beaches, mussels have been used to find high levels of hydrocarbons, the type of pollutants given off when oil washes into waterways and when tires break apart from wear and tear on the road, said Stef Frenzl, marine resource steward for the Snohomish County Marine Resource Committee. Other pollutants found in mussels here include lead, pesticides and fire retardants. In Snohomish County, local environmental officials have embraced the mussel testing program, recently agreeing to harvest and test them in summer months, a national first. "Blue mussels give us a quick snapshot of Puget Sound's water quality and ecosystem health," Frenzl said. "The mussels feed by filtering large quantities of water. Their tissues metabolize most contaminants within 30 days. When we harvest, we receive a snapshot of what pollutants were in the water column." Members of the Marine Resources Committee, made up of volunteers and area environmental officials, recently took samples at seven local sites, including one on Camano Island. "We harvest 150 mussels at each location," Frenzl said. "We pack them on ice, ship them overnight to a lab. They're shelled, processed and analyzed for over 100 contaminants." The goal is to find out if pollutant levels in the summer are substantially different from the tests traditionally taken in January or February, said Alan Mearns, senior scientist at Emergency Response Division with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Seattle. "We have been wondering if (the pollution found in mussels) is a function of mid-winter runoff," Mearns said. "Maybe the concentrations are less in the summer when there is less runoff." If the program in Snohomish County is successful, it could be expanded nationally, where mussels are sampled and tested at some 200 to 300 sites, Mearns said. The Marine Resource Committee has also increased the number of sites where mussels are sampled from four to seven, Frenzl said. Those sites include the Port of Everett, sites near the Mukilteo and Edmonds ferry terminals, Kayak Point, Hat Island, north Port Susan and Cavalero County Park in Island County. Only the Port of Everett site has been tested for long, with samples going back to 1986, Frenzl said. Like all Puget Sound sites, Everett shows high levels of petroleum-based pollutants. It also shows sporadically high levels of lead and zinc. The local mussels are not typically eaten and it's not clear whether pollutant levels found in them make them dangerous, Frenzl said. "This program is not an assessment of shellfish and safety," he said. "It's not designed to tell us which shellfish are safe to eat."

1. Emory’s owner fears fire was arson 2. Monroe honking case makes it to state Supreme Court 3. Vatican ponders the souls in space 4. 81 veterans' names, 81 meaningful lives honored in Snohomish 5. Hope dims that Olympics will boost region 6. Student hit in crosswalk to return 7. Smokey Point to celebrate end of roadwork 8. Death on Edmonds waterfront ruled a suicide 9. Help for young moms may continue 10. Semifinal slate sealed on ‘Dancing With Stars’ 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Bazaar Fever • Hawks proud of historic season • Olson always put Edmonds first • Honoring student veterans • ‘Wheedle' author comes to Lynnwood bookshop • Mavs build early lead en route to easy win • Prep football games of the week (state playoffs) • Tears of laughter, tears of grief • Death on Edmonds beach likely a suicide • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million