Webinar: 3/2

• WHAT: Join us for our webinar, “Driven to Extinction: Tire Chemicals and Salmon,” featuring Sean Dixon from Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and Dr. Jenifer McIntrye from Washington State University. 
• Join us to learn about these chemicals, how they impact salmon, and what we can do about it.
• WHEN: March 2, 2023, 12 p.m. 
• HOW: RSVP required. RSVP for a chance to win $100 gift certificate to hemp clothing company Jungmaven and receive a 10% discount code from Jungmaven in the RSVP confirmation email.
• COST: Free! 

Background

For decades, researchers have puzzled over an alarming phenomenon in urban streams in the Puget Sound: a large proportion of adult coho salmon die before they get the chance to spawn. Then, in 2020, scientists pinpointed the pollutant responsible for the coho deaths. 6PPD-quinone (6PPD-q), the breakdown product of a chemical used to preserve automobile tires, is so highly toxic to coho that exposed fish die in a matter of hours. Are we quite literally “driving” salmon to extinction?

Sean Dixon is the Executive Director of Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, a leading advocate for clean water in the Puget Sound. His background is in environmental law, policy and science. Along with Puget Soundkeeper volunteers, he has been tracking declining coho populations in the Puget Sound and working to stop the toxic impacts of 6PPD-q.

Dr. Jenifer McIntyre is an Assistant Professor of Aquatic Toxicology at Washington State University School of the Environment. Her research specialty is on the toxic impacts of pollutants in urban stormwater runoff to Pacific salmon and other aquatic organisms. Dr. McIntyre was an author of the 2020 paper published in Science that first identified 6PPD-q. She also studies the ability of green infrastructure to prevent exposure of aquatic animals to the toxic contaminants in polluted runoff.

Once registered, you will receive an email confirmation with details on how to join the webinar via Zoom. Even if you can’t attend live, sign up and we’ll send a video recording after the event. 

This webinar has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement RB-02J14801-0 to Columbia Riverkeeper. The contents of this webinar do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency.