North Ridge Estates
Klamath Falls, Ore.
Site Description
The 125-acre site is located approximately three miles north of Klamath Falls, Ore., and is comprised
of residential land parcels. During World War II, a medical facility, the Marine Recuperation Barracks
(MRB), occupied the site and served as a center to treat Marines suffering from tropical diseases
contracted during the war. Asbestos containing material (ACM) was used in the original construction
of the MRB, and, when the MRB buildings were demolished, some of the ACM debris was
improperly left onsite in waste piles and burial pits as well as dispersed in surface and subsurface
soil. During the site's residential development, most of the ACM was covered or buried with soil but
some was left exposed. Over time, pieces of the ACM have appeared at the surface likely due to
repeated cycles of frost heave, soil erosion and runoff. Once at the surface, the ACM can release
asbestos fibers to surface soil and/or air, presenting an unacceptable human health risk to residents.
Arsenic contamination is also present at the site in a small area near the former MRB power plant.
Current Site Status and Cleanup Actions to Date
•	From 2001-2011, EPA and the responsible party performed 18 response actions,
successfully removing and temporarily consolidating several hundreds tons of ACM and
asbestos-contaminated soil.
•	In 2011, EPA added the site to the National Priorities List.
•	EPA expects the site's remedial design to be completed in January 2014.
•	Once this project is funded and completed, all unacceptable human exposure pathways will
be eliminated for the entire site.
Unfunded Action
The FY 2013 work that was not funded involved excavation of contaminated materials (in surface
and subsurface soils); capping of remaining soils to eliminate the soil-to-air exposure pathway;
consolidation and placement of contaminated material in an onsite repository; and capping of the
onsite repository.
Current Funding Status
To date, EPA has not spent any funds for construction at this site.
For more information on this site, please read the North Ridge Estates site information
on the Region 10 Superfund web site.

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