Published: Friday, February 29, 2008
Pristine areas reveal pollution's ugly reach
No two snowflakes are alike. One may contain mercury, for example, while another may float gracefully to the earth carrying pesticide.
A massive, depressing study of 20 Western national parks and monuments shows that remote areas we hold dear as "pristine" are actually contaminated with industrial-age pollutants. Researchers say the pollution can be found in the water, fish, dirt, plants, etc.
"We're looking at some of the most pristine areas left in North America that are under the protection of the national parks and we're finding some alarming results," Dixon Landers, a EPA scientist, told the Seattle P-I.
The study found evidence of 79 contaminants in 20 national parks, including Washington's Olympic, Mount Rainier and North Cascades parks. Fish in lakes at the Olympic and Mount Rainer parks had mercury levels well above the standard that would cause the EPA to trigger warnings for people. The concentrations are also a danger to the wildlife that eat the fish.
The fish at Mount Rainer had the highest amounts of flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. Researchers believe the chemicals probably came from Seattle and other urban areas.
Much of the other pollution is thought to be from overseas, such as from coal plants in China and mines in South Africa. Local power plants, such as the TransAlta coal plant in Chehalis, are also suspected as contributing to the problem.
Researchers also found substantial contamination from the use of legal pesticides, especially around farming areas. They also found chemicals that were banned decades ago. University of Washington atmospheric researcher Daniel Jaffe said scientists used to think banning substances like DDT would lessen the persistence of chemicals in the environment.
"We replaced them with pesticides with much shorter lifetimes in the environment," Jaffe told the Associated Press. "But in places like the Central Valley of California, we are applying many, many tons of these every year … We now know they can move substantial distances."
So, past and present practices, locally and globally, are to blame. The study loudly sounds the alarm that much stricter anti-pollution measures are needed, and quickly.
As Northwesterners, we naturally take pride and joy in the region's breathtaking environment. But our affection can't be superficial , ignoring the poison that is invisibly harming the infrastructure of the earth's pristine beauty, and life.
A massive, depressing study of 20 Western national parks and monuments shows that remote areas we hold dear as "pristine" are actually contaminated with industrial-age pollutants. Researchers say the pollution can be found in the water, fish, dirt, plants, etc.
"We're looking at some of the most pristine areas left in North America that are under the protection of the national parks and we're finding some alarming results," Dixon Landers, a EPA scientist, told the Seattle P-I.
The study found evidence of 79 contaminants in 20 national parks, including Washington's Olympic, Mount Rainier and North Cascades parks. Fish in lakes at the Olympic and Mount Rainer parks had mercury levels well above the standard that would cause the EPA to trigger warnings for people. The concentrations are also a danger to the wildlife that eat the fish.
The fish at Mount Rainer had the highest amounts of flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. Researchers believe the chemicals probably came from Seattle and other urban areas.
Much of the other pollution is thought to be from overseas, such as from coal plants in China and mines in South Africa. Local power plants, such as the TransAlta coal plant in Chehalis, are also suspected as contributing to the problem.
Researchers also found substantial contamination from the use of legal pesticides, especially around farming areas. They also found chemicals that were banned decades ago. University of Washington atmospheric researcher Daniel Jaffe said scientists used to think banning substances like DDT would lessen the persistence of chemicals in the environment.
"We replaced them with pesticides with much shorter lifetimes in the environment," Jaffe told the Associated Press. "But in places like the Central Valley of California, we are applying many, many tons of these every year … We now know they can move substantial distances."
So, past and present practices, locally and globally, are to blame. The study loudly sounds the alarm that much stricter anti-pollution measures are needed, and quickly.
As Northwesterners, we naturally take pride and joy in the region's breathtaking environment. But our affection can't be superficial , ignoring the poison that is invisibly harming the infrastructure of the earth's pristine beauty, and life.
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