EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Marine EcoSystems Analysis (MESA) Puget Sound Project has undertaken intensive studies of Puget Sound, with particular emphasis on such highly industrialized areas as Elliott and Commencement Boys and Sinclair Inlet. These studies have involved chemical, biological and oceanographic investigations aimed at determining the concentrations, fates and effects of toxic chemicals in the Puget Sound ecosystem. An integral part of these studies has been toxicity tests with field-collected sediments. The present study was initiated to extend sediment toxicity testing to two previously untested industrialized Puget Sound embayments: Bellingham Bay and Everett Harbor. Relatively high concentrations of toxic chemicals had been reported from these two areas (Malins et al., 1982). The contaminant mixtures discovered there differed somewhat from those observed in other parts of Puget Sound. This study was initiated to determine if sediments from these two areas were toxic or not. Toxicity testing was also conducted south of Bellingham Bay at Samish Bay, chosen as a reference area. A total of 22 stations were chosen for study: 10 in the Everett Harbor area, 10 in Bellingham Bay, and 2 in Samish Bay. Composite sediment grab samples were collected from each station and tested for acute lethal, sublethal, partial life-cycle, cell reproduction and genotoxic effects. These effects were examined utilizing sensitive test methods applied elsewhere in Puget Sound (Chapman et al., 1982a; in press a, b). An additional station south of Everett Harbor was tested (with negative results) for acute lethal and sublethal effects. On the basis of acute lethal, sublethal, partial life-cycle, cell reproduction and genotoxic effects testing, Everett Harbor, Bellingham and Samish Bays were less toxic than contaminated areas such as the Duwamish Waterway (Elliott Bay) and the Commencement Bay Waterways. Everett Harbor sediments were more toxic overall than those from Bellingham Bay. Samish Bay sediments only showed toxicity in cell reproduction and genotoxic tests, suggesting very different sediment chemistry in this area. Partial life-cycle bioassays with oyster larvae (Crassostrea gigas) were conducted by exposing fertilized eggs to settled sediment slurries for 48 h then determining the number of live larvae and any abnormalities. A total of 19 stations demonstrated significant abnormalities or mortalities; the two reference stations showed no significant effects. Acute lethal bioassays were conducted with the sensitive amphipod Rhepoxynius abronius. Two stations (one each in Bellingham Bay and Everett-Harbor) demonstrated significant acute lethal effects; the two reference stations showed no significant effects. Sublethal effects measurements were conducted with the oligochaete Monopylephorus cuticulatus by exposing the worms to sediment elutriates and measuring respiration rates. Seven stations demonstrated significant respiration rate differences compared to controls; the two reference stations showed no significant effects. Cell reproduction studies were conducted by exposing rainbow trout gonad (RTG-2) and bluegill fry (BF-2) cells to sediment extracts during logarithmic growth. Eight stations (including one reference station) significantly reduced cell growth in RTG-2 cells, and three stations (including both reference stations) significantly reduced cell growth in BF-2 cells. Genotoxic tests for chromosomal damage were conducted by exposing RTG-2 cells to sediment extracts and determining mitotic (anaphase aberration) effects. Sediment extracts from eight stations (including one reference station) caused significant chromosomal damage. Physical and chemical data for tested samples (particle size, total volatile solids, digestible organic carbon, and extractable organic matter) were within the ranges observed for other areas of Puget Sound with the following exceptions. A high clay content was noted in Bellingham Bay sediments and a high percentage of total volatile solids was noted in inner Everett Harbor sediments. INTRODUCTION: One of the intents of the MESA Puget Sound Project is to develop an understanding of the effects of environmental contaminants upon Puget Sound biota. High environmental levels of particular chemicals have been detected in sediments from industrialized embayments of Puget Sound, and a variety of in situ biological effects (e.g. tissue abnormalities in fish and shellfish, changes in biological community structure) occur in areas associated with high levels of various contaminants (Malins et al., 1980, 1982; Dexter et al., 1981; Long, 1982). Direct evidence of toxicity from Puget Sound sediments has recently been provided for three of these industrialized embayments: Elliott Bay, Commencement Bay and Sinclair Inlet (Chapman et al., 1982a, in press a, b). Contaminant mixtures found in sediments from Bellingham Bay and Everett Harbor were known to differ from those of the previously tested areas. However, the relative toxicity of sediments in these two areas was unknown. Recent indirect evidence of the potential for biological effects among biota captured in the two areas has been collected. Field studies have recently recorded fin rot and lesions in bottom fish in Bellingham Bay and Everett Harbor (Campana, 1983; Gronlund et al., 1983). The intent of the present study was to determine whether marine sediments from these embayments also exhibited toxic biological effects in direct exposure tests. Accordingly, composited sediment grab samples were obtained from a total of 22 stations (including a non-industrialized reference area, Samish Bay). These samples were tested for possible biological effects using a range of species and test methodologies. Sediment collected from a station in Possession Sound, south of Everett Harbor, was also tested on an opportunistic basis. The results were used to determine the relative toxicity of Everett Harbor and Bellingham Bay samples compared to those from other tested areas of Puget Sound.
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