USA: Ecology Seeks Public Comment on Duwamish Cleanup

The Jorgensen Forge Corp. (Jorgensen) site along the Duwamish Waterway in Seattle will undergo a partial environmental cleanup this summer under an amendment to a legal agreement between the company and the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology).

Ecology seeks public comment on an amendment to its 2007 agreed order with Jorgensen. Under that agreement, Jorgensen is investigating whether the company’s 22-acre facility at 8531 East Marginal Way South is an ongoing source of contamination to the waterway’s sediments.

The partial cleanup, called an “interim action,” would remove about 180 cubic yards of soil contaminated with elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), a toxic substance. Jorgensen would replace the removed soil with clean fill.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will oversee waterway sediment cleanup, planned for this August, next to the Jorgensen Forge site. Construction equipment used in the cleanup will cross a portion of the site where the soil contains elevated levels of PCB. The interim action will reduce contamination at the site and prevent the spread of contaminants during EPA’s cleanup activities.

Ecology will accept comments on the proposed amendment through June 21, 2013.

[mappress]

Press Release, May 20, 2013