&EFA U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 10 April 1999 Proposed Plan Fact Sheet The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is asking for public comments on the Proposed Plan for cleanup at the Pacific Sound Resources site. The Proposed Plan addresses cleanup for both the upland and off-shore portions of the site. This fact sheet summarizes activities that have taken place over the past year and summarizes the Proposed Plan for cleanup. If there is sufficient interest in the community, EPA will hold a public meeting to talk about questions and concerns. Please contact Krista Rave, toll free, at 1 -800-424-4372, by May 6, if you have questions, comments or would like a meeting on EPA's Proposed Plan. Public Comment Period April 15,1999 to May 15,1999 Comments must be received by EPA by May 15 to ensure that any concerns are addressed before EPA makes a final cleanup decision. Background Pacific Sound Resources (PSR, a.k.a. Wyckoff) operated as a wood preserving facility on SW Florida Street in West Seattle from 1909 until 1994. Creosote, pentachlorophenol (PCP), and various metal-based solutions were used as wood preservatives. Creosote contains various forms of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are the chemical that EPA is most concerned about at this site. Daily operations, as well as spills, leaks and storage of treated wood products resulted in upland (soil and groundwater) contamination. Direct discharge (dumping) of wastes and indirect transport (erosion and runoff) resulted in contaminated marine sediment, off-shore of the facility in Elliott Bay. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in May 1994, making it eligible for investigation and possible cleanup under the (Continued in next column) federal Superfund Program. Shortly after the site went on the NPL, the Port of Seattle (Port) purchased it and received a prospective purchaser's agreement from EPA. Under the agreement, the Port agreed to provide cleanup funding and services for the upland portion of the property. The agreement protects the Port from future liability for additional clean up costs associated with past contamination. The most perplexing contamination issue at this site is associated with non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs). The NAPL at the PSR site consists of woodtreating chemicals and oil. Light NAPLs, or LNAPLs, are less dense than water and as they move down through the soil, they will float on the groundwater. Dense NAPLs, or DNAPLs are heavier than water and tend to sink in the groundwater and as they travel downward, they leave a trail that is absorbed onto the soil which makes cleanup very difficult. ------- SEFA = The Upland Area The upland area consists of approximately 15 acres. Under EPA's direction, the Port has completed the cleanup work in the upland area. In 1995 all of the wood treating facility buildings were demolished and approximately 4,000 cubic yards of highly contaminated soil and sludge was removed from the site. In addition, a subsurface barrier wall, or slurry wall, was constructed to minimize the release of contaminants into Elliott Bay. The wall extends from the ground surface to a depth of about 45 feet below the surface and blocks most groundwater flow to Elliott Bay. In late 1997, the site was covered with clean fill, and an asphalt cap and monitoring wells were installed. The upland site has been redeveloped by the Port and it is now used for container transfer. Small amounts of DNAPL continue to be collected from on-site monitoring wells. To date, approximately 1500 gallons of DNAPL has been collected and disposed of off-site. Since the installation of the barrier wall, no LNAPL has been detected for collection. A report on the investigation of the upland area, called the Upland Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility Study is available for your review at the information repository listed at the end of this fact sheet. In the upland area, EPA is proposing to monitor groundwater and maintain the existing asphalt cap and barrier wall. The asphalt cap and the subsurface barrier wall have eliminated risks to people and the environment. The Marine Sediments The marine sediments area is off-shore of the old woodtreatment facility in Elliott Bay and has been impacted by contamination from the facility. EPA began investigating the nature and extent of contamination in the marine sediment area in 1996. 2 Pacific Sound Resources April 1999 EPA investigated approximately 120 acres of marine sediment in Elliott Bay, of which 100 acres have PAH concentrations that are at a level of concern, and approximately 50 acres require cleanup for PAH contamination. Immediately offshore of the facility, where the bay had been used for disposal, the sediment contamination is up to 20 feet thick. The bay slopes down fairly quickly, and the depth of contamination decreases as you move further from shore. The risk assessment for the marine sediments does indicate that contaminated marine sediment poses a risk to human health and the environment due to PAH concentrations. The population at highest risk is the tribal fisher person consuming seafood harvested from the site for their entire life. Because of these risks, EPA has determined that actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances from this site, if not addressed, present a threat to public health, welfare, and the environment. Cleanup Options Several options were considered for addressing the contamination in Elliott Bay, including: no further action (a requirement to be considered in all proposed plans); dredging (removing) the contaminated sediments; and capping (covering). EPA uses nine criteria to evaluate the alternatives in order to select a cleanup option. The nine criteria are: overall protection of human health and the environment; compliance with applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements, (how the alternative complies with federal and state statutes, regulations); reduction in toxicity, mobility and volume through treatment; short-term effectiveness; long-term effectiveness and permanence; implementability; cost; state acceptance; and community acceptance. Community acceptance will be evaluated based on the comments received during the public comment period. The enclosed Proposed Plan explains how the cleanup options compare to each of the nine criteria. ------- SEFA = Proposed Cleanup Plan EPA is proposing to cap (cover with 3 feet of clean sediment) the most highly contaminated sediments (approximately 50 acres). Several of the old wooden piers may need to be removed so that contaminated sediments under and around the piers can be effectively capped. In order to maintain the cap, there will likely be a "no anchorage zone" where boats will be prohibited from dropping anchors. The capping option was chosen for this site because it can adequately address the risk associated with contaminated sediment with relatively minimal impacts to fisheries. In addition, capping was determined to be the most feasible cleanup option to implement. Dredging, the other common approach to marine sediment cleanup, raised significant concerns regarding short-term water quality impacts and potential impacts to fisheries due to the oily and fine-grained nature of the contaminated sediment. In addition, dredging requires finding a site where the dredged contaminated material can be safely disposed of. While the volume of material necessary to cap the contaminated sediment will not be available to complete the work in one season, receiving smaller portions of capping material over a longer period of time will allow for tests of various placement techniques as well as ongoing evaluation of how effectively the cap is working. 3 Pacific Sound Resources April 1999 The Information Repository: If you would like to review the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Studies, Risk Assessments, or other documents for the Pacific Sound Resources site, please visit the following location: EPA Records Center, 1200 Sixth Avenue, 7th Floor, Seattle (Please call 206-553-4494 to arrange a time to look at the documents.) For further information on the PSR site, please contact: Sally Thomas Project Manager 1200 6th Avenue ECL-111 Seattle, WA 98101 (206) 553-2102 Krista Rave Community Relations Coordinator 1200 6th Avenue ECO-081 Seattle, WA 98101 (206) 553-6686 To ensure effective communication with everyone, additional services can be made available to persons with disabilities by contacting EPA toll free at 1-800-424-4372. ------- &EPA EPA Region 10 Community Relations and Outreach 1200 Sixth Avenue, ECO-081 Seattle, Washington 98101-1128 United States Environmental Protection Agency Proposed Plan Fact Sheet Pacific Sound Resources West Seattle, WA ------- |