Seattle's industrial waterfront remains a contamination challenge for orcas
Balancing Seattle's port economy and its environment has not been easy. Contaminants that are toxic to marine life like the Southern Resident killer whales are a regular concern.
The Southern Resident orcas are often called some of the most contaminated marine mammals on earth. Their fat is filled with toxins like PCBs. When they don't have enough to eat, they metabolize their fat and that poison ends up in their blood. Though outlawed decades ago, PCBs still remain in the sediment around Elliott Bay.
Whether it's toxic wood pilings or chemicals leeching from a scrap metal recycling facility, Seattle's working waterfront is a focus for Puget Soundkeeper Alliance.
Chris Wilke is the non-profit's executive director. He said pollutants can be found in the microscopic organisms, from tiny shrimp up to orcas.
"In every step of that food chain, those pollutants accumulate and eventually by the time you get to an orca whale, it is extremely unhealthy for the animal. But it is unhealthy for the salmon and the herring as well," Wilke said.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/seattles-industrial-waterfront-remains-a-contamination-challenge-for-orcas/ar-AAAL0AQ
I imagine it's unhealthy for humans too depending on how much seafood one consumes.