The histories of DDT and PCBs are both success stories and cautionary tales. Since these chemicals were banned 30 years ago, levels in our bodies have declined. And yet, we still face levels that could be causing harm—decades after regulatory action.

To this day, runoff from agricultural lands transports DDT-containing sediment to rivers and streams, where it is taken up by fish. PCBs persisting in river and bay sediment cause astonishingly high levels in orca whales and salmon. As a result, both chemicals persist in our diets. With both DDT and PCBs, the EPA allowed production and use to go on far too long, to the point where our air, water, land, and bodies became so contaminated that decades of cleanup efforts have yet to eliminate their threats to our health. And the incredible sums expended by state, federal, and tribal governments are all too often resources that could have been put to other uses had these chemicals been adequately tested and analyzed before their widespread production.

Governor Christine Gregoire has launched a major initiative to restore and protect Puget Sound, with the goal of solving the Sound’s biggest pollution problems by 2020. Because cleaning up contaminated sediment is incredibly expensive, the 2006 Washington State Legislature appropriated $44 million for just a single year of Puget Sound cleanup and restoration activities. This initiative is a bold step toward addressing the problem of historical pollution in Puget Sound. However, to fully restore the health of Puget Sound and other toxic sites, state government must place equal or greater priority on preventing the Sound’s recontamination with these banned chemicals—as well as other persistent toxic chemicals, like PBDEs and perfluorinated compounds.