Boeing Cleanup, Everett. Washington Site Description: The Boeing Company owns and operates the Boeing Everett Plant at 3003 West Casino Road, in Everett, Washington. Site History: The plant produces model 747, 767, 777, and 787 commercial aircraft. In 2000, Boeing began replacing joints separating large concrete slabs that make up the plant's flight line, where planes are parked for final testing before being delivered. The joints, which allow the concrete to swell and shrink as temperatures change, contain a sealant laced with PCBs. (The joints are part of the original 1960 plant construction; most PCB manufacturing, processing, distribution in commerce, and use was banned in 1979.) Contamination: Over time, the facility released hazardous substances into soils, groundwater, surface water, and sediments. These hazardous substances included: • Chlorinated solvents (like TCE and PCE) • Non-chlorinated solvents • Fuels • Oils • PCBs • Heavy metals Stormwater laced with PCBs from the deterioration of joints sent PCBs into nearby Powder Mill Creek. PCB levels are close to 6,000 ppb near the company's stormwater outfall into the creek, which discharges into Possession Sound, where there is fishing. EPA guidelines say that if a person eats fish twice a week (8 meals a month), the fish should contain no more than 0.004 - 006 ppm (4-6 ppb) of PCBs.1 The Food and Drug Administration sets a tolerance level, requiring PCBs not to exceed 2,000 ppb in fish and shellfish.2 Cleanup: EPA and state authorities worked with Boeing to remove the PCB-contaminated joints. The Washington Department of Ecology required Boeing to improve the way it collected stormwater running off the flight line. Boeing changed how water is discharged from its retention pond. In a plan approved by EPA and the state, water in the stormwater basin now sifts out through a drain in the bottom, like a bathtub. The new structure allows sediment, including PCBs, more time to settle before the water is discharged into Powder Mill Creek. The Boeing Everett Plant, Everett, Washington. 1 U.S. EPA. 1999. "Fact Sheet - Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Update: Impact on Fish Advisories." https://nepis.epa. gov/Exe/ZvPDF.cgi/901V0A00.PDF?Dockev=901V0A00, PDF 221 CFR 109.30(a)(5). https://www.accessdata,fda,gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?cfrpart=109&showfr=l ------- PCB-contaminated sediment from the stormwater basin is now removed and taken to a facility designed to handle toxic waste. Successful Cleanup Approach: EPA Region 10 implemented the principles of the Green Cleanup Standard Initiative to reduce the environmental footprint; minimize total energy use and maximize use of renewable energy; minimize air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions; minimize water use and impacts on water resources; reduce, reuse, and recycle material and waste; and protect land and ecosystems.3 3 U.S. EPA. 2009. "Green Cleanup Standard Initiative: June 2009 Update." https://clu- in.org/greenremediation/docs/GCS%20Proi%20Update%20June%202009.pdf. ------- |