Washington sues over Everett

ashington sues over Everett

In the US state of Washington, the Department of Ecology (Ecology) has sued Asarco seeking a court order to direct the company to remove the most highly contaminated soil at the site of the former Everett smelter. "Some material at the site has arsenic concentrations that are immediately dangerous to life and health if people come in contact with it - which is a distinct possibility, since we have heard about children trespassing on the site," said Tim Nord, a cleanup manager for Ecology. "This contamination should have been removed years ago, and we can't let another construction season slip by." Mr Nord added that the site's soil is a source of arsenic contamination to underground water that flows toward the Snohomish River and to storm water that flows to Everett's water treatment works.

Late last year, Ecology approved an Asarco proposal for a more-extensive cleanup of the fenced area and several nearby yards. Ecology also required Asarco to stick with the April 30 start-work date for the fenced area, regardless of how the alternative plans proceed. Ecology and Asarco agreed on a work plan earlier this year. The order covers a 2 ha fenced area that was part of Asarco's lead smelter a century ago. Some residues contain up to 76% arsenic. Ecology is requiring Asarco to remove soil with 3,000 or more ppm of arsenic from the fenced area as an interim measure.

Ecology states: “Asarco - which closed the smelter and sold the land in the early 1900s - purchased homes in the 1990s, fenced the area and demolished the houses, but has not conducted a cleanup. Ecology has used state funds to remove contaminated soil from 47 nearby homes and has sampled 10 more in anticipation of cleanup if additional funds become available.”

Ecology has received many comments on the cleanup plans and has responded. “Concerns regarding cleanup activities were generally along the lines of normal concerns for this sort of excavation and grading project, with added concern because the soil is contaminated with arsenic and lead: dust and dirt, erosion control, noise, hours of operation, vibration, and traffic.

“No visible dust will be allowed during the project and air will be monitored to ensure contamination is not leaving the site. Dust will be controlled by spraying water on the excavated soil in sufficient quantity to prevent dust, but not so much as to cause any runoff. Trucks transporting soil will go through a tyre wash prior to leaving the site, if necessary, to prevent tracking of dirt offsite. Truck loads will be covered.

“One comment suggested that additional testing be performed by collecting surface soil samples on adjacent properties before and after cleanup. Ecology discussed this concern with Asarco. Asarco advised Ecology that Asarco believes that the no-visible-dust standard for cleanup operations, with air monitoring as currently planned, will provide a practical, effective, and sufficient level of protection for soil migration beyond the site during cleanup. This approach has been judged acceptable and has been applied successfully by Asarco at many sites similar to Everett. Ecology concurs with this assessment.

“Erosion control will be in place to prevent erosion during excavation and grading. At the end of operations the site will be graded and re-vegetated so the erosion is controlled in the same manner as at any other urban property.

“Site cleanup will use standard earth-moving equipment; noise levels will be those normally associated with such operations. A standard muffler in good working order will be required for all motorised equipment.

“Some comments expressed concern about what would happen of Asarco begins work, then stops with high levels of material exposed. As always happens with a private sector failure that leaves potential imminent public health hazards, government will step in, assess the hazard, and do what is necessary to alleviate any identified imminent hazards.

Asarco held informal public meetings in Tacoma to assess public reaction to its proposal to transport contaminated soil to the Tacoma smelter site. “Most, however, understood that the cost savings (estimated at $3 million) of taking Everett soil to the already-constructed containment facility at Asarco’s Tacoma site, rather than a commercial facility, would provide additional funds for Asarco to meet its environmental liabilities. The result of the informal meeting was that most, but by no means all, of the people who commented at Asarco’s informal meetings in Tacoma supported acceptance of soil at Asarco’s Tacoma facility. This support was conditioned on placing Tacoma waste first and on placing any soil received from Everett directly in the containment facility (i.e., no stockpiling on site while the facility was receiving Tacoma waste). Residents also indicated that only Everett Smelter site soil be accepted at the Tacoma Smelter site; the Tacoma Smelter site should not become a ‘regional dump’ for arsenic- and lead-contaminated soil from other areas.”

Contacts: Larry Altose, Ecology public information, tel: +1 425 649 7009 and David Mears, assistant attorney general, tel: +1 360 586 6743

Everett smelter site: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/sites/asarco/es_main.html

[This article is reproduced thanks to Mining Environmental Management magazine]