Groups sue Boeing over Duwamish River contamination

The suit contends the Military Delivery Center plant in Tukwila is a hotbed for highly toxic PCBs.

Associated Press

TUKWILA — A new lawsuit says the Boeing aircraft company is poisoning the Duwamish River by pumping out pollution that is far and away above the legal limit.

KOMO-TV reports environmental groups Puget Soundkeeper and Waste Action Project say the Military Delivery Center plant in Tukwila is a hotbed for highly toxic polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, which flow out as stormwater runoff and then enter the food chain.

The groups are suing Boeing on grounds that it is violating the Clean Water Act.

Boeing says it “has demonstrated its commitment to improving the health of the Lower Duwamish Waterway by investing in cleanup activities, stormwater treatment, and habitat restoration for fish and wildlife.”

Tests of the Duwamish Waterway show dangerously high levels of cancer-causing PCBs. The lawsuit says that pollution is contaminating the fish that orcas feed on.

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