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Department of Ecology News Release - December 14, 2004
04-228
OLYMPIA - Nearly 55,000 pounds of black, toxic chemicals have so far been removed from soil and underground water next to the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, thanks to an innovative steam-heating cleanup system.
"We are making excellent progress. Our steam-extraction system is humming along day and night, pulling tons of contaminants from the environment," said Dan Alexanian, who is overseeing the cleanup for the Department of Ecology.
The former Pacific Wood Treating site on Port of Ridgefield property is one of the most contaminated sites in Clark County and one of the most expensive cleanup sites in the state. So far, the Port of Ridgefield is paying for the cleanup using $8 million in state loans and grants, although more money will be needed to finish the job.
The site is polluted with an estimated 100,000 gallons of toxic chemicals once used to coat and preserve poles, pilings and railroad ties. They include creosote, pentachlorophenol, cancerous polyaromatic hydrocarbons, copper, chromium and arsenic. The chemicals are highly effective at preserving wood, but they are deadly to living things.
At Ridgefield, a dangerous underground plume of contamination has poisoned soil and underground water, threatening Lake River and Carty Lake in the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.
Traditional cleanup technologies for these kinds of sites are difficult and time consuming, possibly taking hundreds of years, according to Alexanian. The steam technology, while initially expensive, provides a quicker and more thorough cleanup that can finish the job in as little as three years.
The steam-injection system works by forcing steam deep into the ground. The steam rises in the water table, warming up the contamination so it rises toward the surface within reach of 11 pumps that extract it.
"It's like warming up molasses. The steam makes the viscous contamination more liquid, and that makes it easier for us to pump it out and remove it," Alexanian said.
A vapor-extraction system catches any toxic chemicals that vaporize as part of the heating process.
Port workers continuously monitor the system, and Ecology watches the progress from computers in Olympia that are tapped into the system. The steaming has been going nearly nonstop since May, Alexanian said.
The "black yucky stuff," as workers endearingly call it, is being kept in containers at the site. The cleanup plan calls for it to be taken away, most likely to an incinerator, where it can be destroyed without further environmental harm.
Eventually, the port plans to redevelop the site for commercial, recreational and tourist interests.
"We are now through the critical start-up phase of the project and ready to increase the number of wells and remove even more contaminant," said Port Executive Director Brent Grening. "The more wells we have in production, the faster and more cost-effective our cleanup will be. With continued support from Ecology, we can get this project done, and both our community and our environment will be safe again."
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Media Contacts: Sandy Howard, Dept. of Ecology, 360-407-6239; pager, 360-786-3136
Allison Shultz, Port of Ridgefield, 360-887-3873
Port of Ridgefield: http://www.portridgefield.org/pwtCleanUp/index.htm (Link updated 02/17/05.)
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
