Study Finds High Level of Toxics in S.D. Bay

A federal study of toxic pollution and environmental changes along the West Coast has turned up what investigators say are worrisome signs of serious chemical contamination at at least at one sampling point in San Diego Bay.

The study of coastal pollution near eight urban areas found the highest levels of aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and copper in sediments collected in San Diego Bay off the 28th Street Pier.

The same site also yielded high levels of chromium in sediments and a high incidence of a condition called “fin erosion” in barred sand bass, a bottom-dwelling fish caught at the 28th Street location.

“I think it’s reasonable to speculate that on the basis of these sorts of findings that there is probably a fairly widespread and fairly serious pollution problem in the urban areas of San Diego Bay,” said Donald Malins of the National Marine Fisheries Service, who headed the study.

“Now the extent of the problem and the nature of the problem and its impact on aquatic life can only be determined by further study,” he said. “ . . . I think one has to take these sorts of findings pretty seriously, although they were somewhat confined in scope.”

Local water-quality officials, who learned last summer of the study’s results, said Wednesday that they had incorporated the conclusions into their own plans for a broad study of pollution in the bay, to begin this summer.

“Based on this information and (another recent study) we have become concerned that there could be a problem in San Diego Bay concerning the sportfishing industry,” said Peter Michael, an environmental specialist with the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Asked to clarify, Michael said: “There may be a pollution-related problem affecting sport fish.”

Michael said the study was one of the first to call attention to the problem of bay pollution by aromatic hydrocarbons, which are petroleum wastes that often come from urban runoff, fueling accidents, illicit bilge pumping and discharges from waste oil tanks. He said that type of pollution has not been studied well in the past.

As for PCBs, state tests had detected the suspected carcinogens in the bay for many years. But the Water Quality Control Board has focused its attention on another hot spot, Convair Lagoon off Harbor Drive.

Similarly, local investigators had traced extraordinarily high copper levels to a copper-transport facility not far from the 28th Street Pier sampling site. The copper levels have been blamed on sloppy practices by the transport company, Paco Terminals.

The new study, in which Malins said samples were taken from the bay in September, 1984, is part of a broader look at long-term changes in the environmental quality of the nation’s coastal waters and estuaries. The West Coast cities studied also included Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tacoma, Seattle and Skagway, Alaska.

According to Malins’ report, his team measured aromatic hydrocarbons at levels of 5,000 parts per billion in San Diego sediments. The second highest levels, 4,700 parts per billion, were found in sediments taken from Elliott Bay near Seattle.

Similarly, the team found PCB levels in San Diego sediments at 420 parts per billion and 330 parts per billion in Elliott Bay. The copper levels at the San Diego Bay sampling station were measured at 219 parts per billion--more than twice the concentration found in Elliott Bay.

The investigators also observed relatively high levels of PCBs and aromatic hydrocarbons in the stomach contents of barred sand bass. However, the levels of those chemicals were higher in the stomach contents of fish caught in several other places.

The study noted that there was a large margin of error in the sediment measurements for aromatic hydrocarbons and PCBs.

“I would say there are clearly indications in the San Diego area of serious pollution problems, and some evidence that the pollution is being translated into some damage to the sand bass,” said Malins, who is director of the environmental conservation division of the Northwest and Alaska Fisheries Center in Seattle.

But he cautioned: “This particular study is not to be construed to represent the pollution or health condition of the entire bay. I think people need to understand that. It by no means should be interpreted in that light.”

Malins added: “What is the implication of all this to human health? You have to say that we know almost nothing at this point in time.”

The 28th Street location was chosen because it seemed to represent “a reasonable example of an urban site in San Diego Bay,” Malins said. He said his agency is now considering other possible sites for further sampling in the bay, if funding for the study continues.