Aquatic Toxicology

Treatment plant permit testing

Wastewater treatment plants need to meet National Pollution Discharge Elimination System  (NPDES) permit criteria to do their work. We do tests that help to make sure water treated by wastewater treatment plants meets these NPDES permit limits. 

Washington State Sediment Management Standards

Another important set of rules that helps to keep our environment healthy are the Washington State Sediment Management Standards . When pollutants enter our lakes, rivers, and Puget Sound, they can sink to the bottom where they become part of the sediments. Plants and animals that live in or near the bottom (like clams and fish) can get sick from too much pollution and people that eat them can also get sick.  We do tests that measure how safe sediments collected from lakes and Puget Sound are for the plants and animals that depend on them to live.

Algae toxin testing

We also do tests called enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) that measure toxins produced by certain kinds of algae. Some algal blooms make toxins that can kill fish, mammals (like seals and dogs) and birds, and can cause people to get sick or even die in serious cases. When an algal bloom causes problems like these, it is called a harmful algal bloom (HAB). Our tests measure how safe lakes and ponds are for swimming and fishing.

Marine phytoplankton monitoring

We use a state-of-the-art instrument, called a FlowCAM, and microscopy to analyze samples from Puget Sound for phytoplankton. These tiny marine plants and animals are the base of the marine food web. Our long-term dataset helps us to see changes in these communities over time. Some of these changes can alert us to possible problems in the marine environment. View and download the data.