Toxics in Stormwater Pollution - SustainabilityTALKS

Jenifer McIntyre, Research Scientist with the WSU Stormwater Center, describes the current science on the toxic chemicals entering Puget Sound from polluted storm water runoff with a focus on the susceptibility of aquatic animals like salmon.  Current research on rain garden soil filtration points to solutions for reducing these toxics, leaving cleaner water with less impact on fish.

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BIO:  Jenifer McIntyre is an Aquatic Ecotoxicologist working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Puyallup Research and Extension Center for Washington State University. She is passionate about science that brings about change.  In 1997, her BS in Environmental Biology at Queen’s University led to the ban of a pulp mill effluent used as a road dust suppressant.  She continued her education and in 2004, received a Master's from the University of Washington on contaminant bioaccumulation that led the Washington State Department of Health to issue a fish consumption advisory for several fishes in Lake Washington.  Her Ph.D. research in 2010 at UW on olfactory neurotoxicity of copper in coho salmon helped pass legislation in Washington and California that phases out copper and other metals in brake pads.  Jen’s current work focuses on the ecotoxicology of stormwater runoff and the biological effectiveness of green stormwater infrastructure.

Links for Learning More…

• Stormwater research in the news: 

http:// http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/science/cleaning-up-water-by-running-it-through-dirt.html

• Stormwater research on the radio: http://kuow.org/post/chemical-cocktail-thats-killing-salmon

• Soil bioretention protect - juvenile salmon and their prey from the toxic impact of urban runoff: 

   http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653514014805

• Zebrafish and clean water technology: assessing soil bioretention:   

    http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969714012455

• Recurrent die-offs of adult coho salmon returning to spawn in Puget Sound lowland urban streams:       

   http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0028013

• Coho pre-spawn mortality wiki:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-spawn_mortality_in_coho_salmon