There are relatively fewer signs of lethal conditions. Massive fish kills 
are relatively infrequent as compared to conditions in the 1950s. Few 
sediment samples from a few small areas have no marine life in them, 
whereas in the 1950s major parts of some harbors had no life at all. 
Lethal conditions are mainly observed in bioassays performed with water, 
sediment and microlayer samples. These tests are often positive (toxic) 
in samples from the contaminated harbors and waterways and usually not 
toxic in samples from rural areas or the main basin of the Sound. 
Finally, the effects observed thus far are mainly restricted to those 
among invertebrates and fish. Recent studies have shown that no major 
adverse effects apparently are occurring among the resident marine birds 
and mammals, though more research should be performed to determine if some 
subtle changes are occurring. 
A very important byproduct of the assessment of the environmental quality 
of the Sound has been the development and refinement of assessment 
methods. Many of these methods have involved biological tests performed 
synoptically with chemical analyses. Some methods initially used in Puget 
Sound studies are now being performed elsewhere, significantly, in the 
National Status and Trends Program. Chemical analyses of sediments and 
bottomfish, histopathological analyses of internal organs of bottomfish 
and bile metabolite analyses of bottomfish are being performed at over 50 
sites along the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf coasts. 
In addition, the Sediment Quality Triad (Long and Chapman, 1986) was 
developed in studies performed in Puget Sound. The Triad consists of 
measures of sediment contamination, toxicity and infaunal community 
structure. It has been and is being used to develop strong evidence of 
the relative degrees of pollution of sediments. 
While marine scientists have made great gains in our knowledge of the 
biological effects of pollution in Puget Sound, large gaps in our data 
still exist. First, the geographic extent of the observed effects is not 
fully documented. Most of the large bays and harbors that would likely be 
contaminated, and therefore demonstrate adverse effects, have been studied 
to some degree. Many other small bays and much of the open waters of 
Puget Sound basin have yet to be tested fully. Knowledge of the geo¬ 
graphic extent of problem areas is needed so remedial actions can be 
focused upon those portions of the region that most need help. A few 
studies are either underway or recently completed to fill in some of these 
gaps. More are being planned. 
Second, there is precious little information on how the conditions of the 
Sound are changing with time. Are environmental conditions getting better 
or worse? The urgency to take action now in areas that are getting worse 
exceeds that for areas that are getting better due to existing clean-up 
efforts. Plans for coordinating and augmenting existing monitoring 
programs are being formulated. 
44 
