Toxic PCBs, lead, mercury, arsenic, raw sewage, pesticides, oil … and the list goes on for contaminants found in the Duwamish River, declared a Superfund Site in 2001 and considered one of the most contaminated sites in the country.

Sustainable West Seattle, a nonprofit organization “that educates and advocates for urban sustainability in our local community”, will host a community forum on Oct. 18 from 7 to 9 p.m. to discuss the past, present and future of the Duwamish River.

The forum will be held at Camp Long (5200 35th Ave s.w.) and a long list of individuals involved in the river’s cleanup efforts will speak.

Speakers include Port of Seattle Commissioner Rob Holland, Lori Cohen from the Environmental Protection Agency, Bob Warren from Washington State Dept. of Ecology, BJ Cummings of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, Heather Trim from People for Puget Sound, Chair of the Duwamish Tribe Cecile Hansen and Genevieve Aguilar from Puget Sound Sage.

Speakers will discuss what is being done now in cleanup efforts and where help is still needed, according to a press release. Sustainable West Seattle encourages community members to attend the event as “questions and discussion from the audience will be a key part of this discussion.”

“There has been a lot of great work done for the Duwamish by several local organizations,” president of Sustainable West Seattle Brian Allen said in a press release. “What we’re hoping to do with our community forum is bring more attention from the broader community to this issue.”

“(The Duwamish River) is still a big question mark for the community,” Nicholas Smith with Sustainable West Seattle said. “I think people would like to see it resolved.”

Once a thriving waterway used by the native people of Washington, the 5.5 mile stretch of Duwamish south of Elliot Bay is now home to a massive industrial district, and the riverbed of this stretch is the focus of Superfund cleanup efforts.

The pollution stems primarily from industrial dumping throughout the century and stormwater runoff from city streets, according to the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition website (www.duwamishcleanup.org). Boeing and public agencies like the Port of Seattle, King County and the City of Seattle have been identified as polluters who are required to help pay for cleanup efforts.

According to the DRCC website, the major issues facing the Duwamish include the “toxic stew” contained in the sediment of the riverbed, PCBs in nearly all Salmon in the river and that “many of these pollutants have the potential to pose serious health risks by building up in the tissues of fish and shellfish, and passing through the food chain to eagles, seals, Orcas and people.”

The DRCC website says people who regularly eat fish and shellfish or have regular contact with the river-bottom mud from the river are at the greatest risk for health problems related to contamination.

In 2009 PBS Frontline did a special investigation called “Poisoned Waters,” which looked at the troubled Duwamish River in part. It can be watched online for free here.

“"The environment has slipped off our radar screen because it's not a hot crisis like the financial meltdown, war or terrorism," Hedrick Smith, the show’s host said. "But pollution is a ticking time bomb. It's a chronic cancer that is slowly eating away the natural resources that are vital to our very lives."