The following article was written by the former editor of the South Whidbey Record, Jim Larson. The bulleted points cover some of the more crucial points about creosote dangers to marine life in our local waters

Timber pilings treated with creosote have been used for decades in Puget Sound and are still in use or have washed up on beaches. In this region the Department of Fish and Wildlife no longer permits their use in Puget Sound, and they are not allowed in any fresh water lakes in the state.

Activist Tony Frantz estimates hundreds of creosote logs have drifted into Lake Hancock and they are common elsewhere around Whidbey Island.

Here are some facts about treated wood, from an issue paper dated April 2001, prepared for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. The paper is titled "Treated Wood Issues Associated with Overwater Structures in Marine and Freshwater Environments."

Treated wood is used in many outdoor applications because of its resistance to biological decay.

Creosote is an oil base treatment. Many studies have assessed the effects of polycycllic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) found in creosote.

PAH have induced tumors in laboratory animals exposed by inhalation and ingestion.

PAH are toxic to aquatic organisms at low concentrations for sustained continuous exposure.

Creosote treated pilings are lethal to herring eggs that are deposited on the piling surface. Pilings over 50 years old still contain sufficient amounts of creosote to kill herring embryos.

The most probable route of exposure to leached or diffused contaminants from treated wood to salmon is through the consumption of contaminated prey, such as herring.

Areas where there are a large number of creosote treated structures pose the greatest risk to salmon listed as endangered.

Pilings over 40 years of age still contain diffusible amounts of creosote that migrate from the product into the environment.