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City releases preliminary results on fireworks chemical after 2024 EPA study; more testing pending
Summary
An EPA-led study that included Lake Stevens found a short-lived spike in perchlorate levels at North Cove Park after July 4 fireworks in 2024; city staff repeated sampling in 2025 and will report results when available.
The city's environmental programs manager told council on July 15 that Lake Stevens participated in a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study of perchlorate levels in lakes before and after July 4 fireworks events and that the 2024 sampling showed a temporary increase at North Cove Park that exceeded an ecological screening value.
Why it matters: perchlorate (prechlorate in staff remarks) is used in fireworks and can affect thyroid function in humans and wildlife; the city's testing aims to determine whether large public fireworks events measurably change perchlorate concentrations and whether those changes pose local risks.
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