Environmental health in Washington
Local exposures worth knowing about
Where you live shapes what you’re exposed to. These are well-documented environmental health issues in Washington, from official public-health sources, with context from integrative medicine societies on Lyme disease.
Damp winters and hidden mold indoors
In western Washington’s wet, cool months, windows stay shut and warm indoor air meets cold walls. The Department of Health notes that mold can grow where moist air condenses on cold exterior walls, behind dressers and headboards, in closets, and in kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms and basements, and that some mold grows hidden behind wall coverings or ceiling tiles. A musty smell is often the first sign. A small number of molds make toxins called mycotoxins, and the department notes that high exposure can cause fatigue, nausea, headaches, and lung and eye irritation. Running bathroom and kitchen fans, moving furniture a few inches off exterior walls and keeping indoor humidity under 50% help.
Sources: Washington Department of Health: Mold; US EPA: A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home
Record flooding in December 2025
Between December 5 and 22, 2025, a series of atmospheric rivers and winter storms caused widespread flooding and landslides across Washington. More than 100,000 people were under evacuation orders and nearly 4,000 homes were damaged. EPA advises drying water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth, and drywall, insulation and crawl spaces that stayed wet longer can hide it. If your home flooded, consider an inspection by an independent company, and re-testing by a different company after remediation.
Sources: Office of the Washington Governor: Request for a federal major disaster declaration after the December flooding (January 21, 2026); US EPA: A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home
Valley fever in south-central Washington
Valley fever isn’t only a desert illness. The fungus that causes it, Coccidioides, has been found in soil in Benton, Kittitas and Yakima counties, and the Department of Health has reports of people likely exposed in Yakima, Benton, Franklin, Walla Walla and Spokane counties. People catch it by breathing in spores from dust or disturbed soil, for example during construction, digging or dust storms. About 6 in 10 infected people never have symptoms. Others have fatigue, cough, fever, night sweats, or muscle or joint aches, and because it looks like other lung infections, the CDC notes it’s often misdiagnosed.
Sources: Washington Department of Health: Valley fever (coccidioidomycosis); CDC: About Valley fever
Ticks and Lyme disease
Lyme disease is rare in Washington. Each year 10 to 40 cases are reported among residents, but most were picked up in the Northeast or upper Midwest; only zero to seven confirmed cases a year are acquired here. The western black-legged tick, which can carry Lyme, lives mainly in western Washington and on the eastern slopes of the Cascades, in forested or brushy areas. Most Lyme cases in North America begin between May and August. Early signs include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and an expanding rash. Check yourself, your kids and your pets for ticks after time outdoors. Integrative medicine groups add context. ILADS (the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society) notes that fewer than 30% of US patients with Lyme remember a tick bite and fewer than 20% of Lyme rashes look like a classic bull’s-eye, that the standard two-step blood test misses a significant number of infections, and that diagnosis must be made on a clinical basis. One tick bite can pass on more than one infection, and ILADS advises considering co-infections such as Babesia, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia, and Bartonella (whose spread by ticks is still debated), especially when symptoms persist after treatment. ISEAI (the International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness) counts persistent Lyme, Bartonella and Babesia among environmentally acquired illnesses and notes that people with chronic Lyme are likely to become more sensitive to mold in water-damaged buildings.
Sources: Washington Department of Health: Lyme disease; ILADS: Lyme disease basics for providers; ISEAI: About environmentally acquired illness
Marine biotoxins in shellfish
Washington tests shellfish for three marine biotoxins made by naturally occurring algae: the toxins behind paralytic, diarrhetic and amnesic shellfish poisoning. Shellfish concentrate these toxins, cooking or freezing doesn’t destroy them, and toxic shellfish look, taste and smell the same as safe ones. A beach can have a toxic bloom while the water looks clear. Check the Department of Health’s Shellfish Safety Map on the day you plan to harvest.
Source: Washington Department of Health: Shellfish biotoxins
Toxic algae in lakes and ponds
Warm temperatures, sunlight and nutrient-rich water can cause blooms of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) in lakes, ponds and rivers, most often in summer and fall. Most aren’t toxic, but some make nerve and liver toxins that can sicken people and kill pets. Signs of nerve toxin exposure include numbness of the lips, tingling in the fingers and toes, and dizziness. When in doubt, stay out, and keep pets and livestock away from the water.
Source: Washington Department of Health: Cyanobacteria
The Tacoma Smelter Plume
For almost 100 years, a copper smelter in Tacoma released emissions that settled on soil across more than 1,000 square miles of the Puget Sound basin, from north Seattle to East Olympia, with the highest levels around Tacoma and Vashon Island. Arsenic, lead and other heavy metals remain in some of that soil today, which matters for gardening, yard work and children’s play areas.
Source: Washington Department of Ecology: Tacoma Smelter Plume
Radon
Radon is a natural radioactive gas that tends to collect in basements and other below-ground spaces. Long-term exposure raises the risk of lung cancer, and it’s the leading cause of lung cancer in people who don’t smoke. The Washington Department of Health offers a limited number of free test kits to state residents.
Source: Washington Department of Health: Radon
A flooded home, a damp house with hidden mold or water damage, a tick bite, Lyme disease or a co-infection such as Babesia or Bartonella, or toxic algae doesn’t mean you’ll get sick. But these exposures can add to your body’s overall toxic and inflammatory burden, and they may be part of the picture behind chronic fatigue, brain fog, aches, headaches and new sensitivities that routine labs often miss. Dr. Madeira also looks at less obvious sources, such as endotoxins, damp crawl spaces and sewer gas from dried-up P-traps. If you live in Washington and these symptoms sound familiar, your symptoms are real, and Dr. Madeira can help you look at your full exposure history and build a step-by-step, integrative plan with you.
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