"Dirty water from residential washing machines is a significant source of a toxin polluting Puget Sound, according to a study released Tuesday.

Dust that sloughs off hundreds of every day household products -- including cosmetics, vinyl flooring, shower curtains and furniture -- accumulates on people’s clothing and goes down the drain with the laundry-room suds, the study theorizes.

The study, conducted by the Seattle-based nonprofit, Washington Toxics Coalition, tested only for a single class of chemicals called phthalates, which accumulate in marine sediments and interfere with reproductive activity in marine creatures.

However, researchers say the washing machine pathway likely carries many other toxics as well."

Rob Carson reports for the Tacoma News Tribune September 29, 2009. [2]