Photos of Double Bluff | home
Photos of Double Bluff Beach
Update! 78 tons of creosoted debris removed from this beach and the nearby wetland in 2005.
Tony and his crew hard at work during the clean-up.
Due to the small staging area at this beach and the excess heat of this summer, materials were cut, loaded and removed as quick as possible to minimize our exposure to the toxic fumes.
A total of ten containers were taken out of this area.
The following photos were taken at Double Bluff beach in November and December of 2001. This is a public beach where families come to beachwalk and see beautiful west side sunsets, walk dogs and let their children swim and play in shallow natural tidepools during the summer. Creosote logs often protrude into the pool where the children play. Mothers sit watching their kids believing they are perfectly safe. They are unaware of the true dangers from the creosote. See Facts About Creosote.
On December 22, 2001, Tony placed approximately 200 red balloons near the parking area at Double Bluff.
The above event was repeated in August of 2002 for a visit from US Congressman Rick Larsen (D), Barry Wenger of the WA State Dept. of Ecology; Jill McKinnie, Cong. Larsen's assistant; Kristen Lemieux, a representative from State Sen. Haugen's office (taking the photo); and Howard Garrett of the Orca Network. They came to meet with Tony for a personal tour of the problem on this beach. We only marked the largest, darkest creosoted pieces.There were hundreds more in an area the size of a football field. Unfortunately, this is not a one time event. These pieces are always here. Some move in and out with the tides, while others are trapped forever in the wetland farther back from the beach. On a warm, windless day instead of smelling salt and sand and natural beach smells, the air is filled with the stench of creosote.
The following photos are close-ups of the types of pilings that are marked by the balloons in the pictures at the beginning.
I have watched this 10 foot piling move around this area with the tides for two years now. The two photos below are close-ups taken when I rolled the log slightly with the peevee.
Notice the drips on the sand and smaller pieces of wood. When those pieces float away with the tides, the contamination is spread even further.
The creosote on this log is dripping into the sand. The squiggle in the center at the bottom of the picture is hardened drips that have run under the stick.
A perfect place to sit and watch the kids or enjoy the view !?
Not knowing any better, people were sitting on the creosoted piling at the left while burning the RR tie pieces in the fire pit the night before. The sea breezes were blowing this toxic smoke toward some people sitting on the benches above. After breathing in some of the smoke, a woman collapsed and an ambulance had to be called for her.
The three pieces of wood used as seats in this fort are either creosoted or arsenic-treated. The fort had been built with numerous pieces of creosote and treated wood. Notice the upright board (CCA wood) on the left with the indentations from the treating process.
This pile of creosoted and copper chromated arsenic (CCA) wood was removed over a period of three months from the fort in the background. This was done just prior to the clean-up at this beach. Tony kept having to move the pile farther away because kids kept coming to get it again to add to the fort.
Backside of the pile.
More examples and information:
Creosoted and treated wood in one piece. This beach is inundated with these types of derelict floating construction debris.
Two of these pieces are at different stages of discoloration. The round, gray one on the left has weathered to a point where it would go unnoticed among all the other natural driftwood. It looks like it would no longer have creosote leaching out of it, therefore making it harmless to the environment. Instead, over the years to come, it will become hollowed out by time and boring insects.
Notice the thickness of the outer layer. That's how far the creosote has permeated this piece. The core is decomposing naturally.
Our beaches, wetlands, parks, marine life, and wildlife are all affected by the presence of this toxic garbage. Our children and ourselves are being unknowingly exposed as we enjoy the beauty of our surroundings. It hides in plain sight all around us.
