8. Recommendations for Specific Land-Use Scenarios (continued)

8b. Residential Properties

The Task Force is concerned about the number of properties potentially affected by area-wide soil contamination and the practicality and cost of implementing protection measures at residential properties. At the same time, the Task Force recognizes that most residential properties are, essentially, child-use areas and that both children and adults are most likely to come into regular contact with soil at home, through play, gardening, and other activities. However, the Task Force also recognizes that residents can choose whether and how to implement protection measures at their properties to address low-to-moderate levels of soil contamination. Therefore, the Task Force emphasizes that the Agencies should focus on helping residents to understand the potential for elevated levels of arsenic and lead in soil at individual properties and take appropriate response actions. With these considerations in mind, the Task Force decided that responses to area-wide soil contamination at residential properties should be similar to, and no more stringent than, the approaches described above for child-use areas and that particular attention should be paid to three populations: children, gardeners, and other adults who frequently work in soil.

Recommendations
In addition to broad-based education and awareness-building to increase residents' knowledge about area-wide soil contamination, the Task Force recommends that the Agencies:

• Offer both technical and financial assistance to support and encourage residents potentially affected by area-wide soil contamination to:
  
  • Implement individual protection measures and maintain good soil cover in areas where children play to reduce the potential for exposure to contaminated soil.
    
  • Conduct qualitative evaluations to increase understanding of where exposure could occur and to focus implementation of soil testing and additional protection measures.
    
  • Conduct soil testing where qualitative evaluations indicate there is potential for exposure to contaminated soil and implement additional protection measures if contamination is found.
    
• Provide information on where and how to dispose of contaminated soil that individuals choose to remove from their properties and help residents locate sources of soil that meets the MTCA cleanup standards for arsenic and lead.

The Task Force emphasizes that these are not recommendations for creating new regulatory requirements for residential properties or residents. The Agencies should focus on providing incentives for residents to implement Task Force recommendations and supporting residents who choose to implement recommended activities through education, outreach, and financial assistance.

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Individual Protection Measures and Good Soil Cover
As with child-use areas, at residential properties the first step in taking action to minimize the potential for children and adults to come into contact with contaminated soil is to practice individual protection measures and to maintain good soil cover. It is not necessary to confirm that elevated levels of arsenic and lead are present in soil before taking these actions. Rather, where area-wide soil contamination is likely, the Task Force recommends that all residents follow individual protection measures and maintain good soil cover unless 1) qualitative property evaluations indicate that elevated soil levels of lead and arsenic are not likely or exposure to soil is not likely, or 2) quantitative soil testing shows that elevated soil levels of arsenic and lead are not present.

Qualitative Evaluations
Residents of properties affected by area-wide soil contamination should carry out qualitative evaluations to determine the potential for their property to have elevated levels of arsenic and lead in soil and the potential for exposure to contaminated soil. Qualitative evaluations should use easily identifiable features (such as property elevation in areas potentially affected by historical use of lead arsenate pesticides) to determine if elevated soil levels of arsenic and lead are likely and easily observable features (such as the presence or absence of bare dirt) to determine if exposure to contaminated soil is likely. A qualitative evaluation checklist is included in Section 8a.

Soil Testing and Additional Protection Measures
Where qualitative evaluations show that elevated levels of arsenic and lead in soil and/or exposures to contaminated soil are likely, residents should consider soil sampling. Soil sampling will provide a basis for residents' decisions about what steps, if any, beyond implementation of individual protection measures and maintenance of good soil cover should be taken to reduce potential exposures. It may also help confirm the absence of elevated levels of arsenic and lead, thereby obviating the need for other responses. Guidance on how to carry out soil sampling is included in the toolbox of information discussed in Section 7 of this report and included in Appendix K.

The Agencies should provide incentives and opportunities for individuals who choose to sample soils on their properties. Specifically, the Agencies should work with local health jurisdictions to provide do-it-yourself sampling kits to residents upon request. These kits should include instructions on how to collect soil samples, tools for collecting samples, clear explanations of why the sampling procedures should be followed, and instructions on how to have soil samples analyzed. Furthermore, the Agencies should establish a mechanism to subsidize the costs of sampling at residential properties in area-wide soil contamination areas so that residents only need to pay, at most, nominal fees for soil analysis. Fees should be comparable to the costs to residents of other environmental monitoring programs, such as water quality testing. The Agencies could, for example, make X-ray fluorescence (XRF) machines available routinely throughout the year at easily accessible locations and charge residents only minimal fees for the on-site soil analysis. As an alternative, or to supplement use of XRF machines, the Agencies could provide vouchers to residents for reduced or low-cost analysis of soil samples at independent laboratories.

Finally, the Agencies should work with local health jurisdictions to assist property owners to interpret soil testing results and select any appropriate protection measures. The Agencies should provide the appropriate context for sampling results so that residents understand the potential health risks from exposure to contaminated soils without becoming unduly alarmed.

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Confidentiality and Reporting of Sampling Results

	Real Estate Disclosure Requirements Regardless of how the Agencies track and record sampling data, individual property owners who have information about the presence of elevated levels of arsenic, lead, or other contaminants on a property are required under existing real estate disclosure laws to disclose this information to buyers during real estate transactions.

To protect the privacy of residents who choose to take advantage of soil sampling opportunities, data from soil testing conducted by individuals for their own use should be kept confidential and should not be associated with specific property locations in Agencies' records (i.e., residents' names and addresses should not be recorded in writing), unless 1) individuals volunteer to have the data used to update maps of area-wide soil contamination, 2) they request a No Further Action letter for the property from Ecology, or 3) the sampling results reflect concentrations that are not associated with area-wide soil contamination (i.e., that are not low-to-moderate). The Agencies' assistance with the interpretation of sampling results should be provided in ways that prevent property-specific data from becoming public. This is not the case for public and public-use properties such as public child-use areas, where the Agencies have the responsibility to educate parents and others about any contamination that is present.

If it is necessary for the Agencies to include information on sampling results from private residences in their records to provide financial and technical assistance, or as a way to provide for information that might be used to make maps of locations of potential area-wide soil contamination more precise, these data should be recorded only at the section, township, and range level. This level of detail should allow the Agencies to update area-wide soil contamination maps and help further target outreach activities and financial resources, while protecting the privacy of residents who choose to test soil on their properties.

Support for Additional Protection Measures Individuals Choose to Implement
Where soil sampling results indicate that elevated levels of arsenic or lead are present, residents should be encouraged to consider implementing additional protection measures to further reduce the potential for exposure to contaminated soil. In some instances, individuals may choose to take additional actions to further contain or remove contaminated soil. Additional protection measures might include installing protective barriers such as geotextile fabric (e.g., weed cloth) between soil and landscaping materials, particularly in areas where children play. Alternatively, additional protection measures might include replacing contaminated soil with clean soil in gardening areas or filling raised garden beds with clean soil.

The Agencies should support individuals who choose to implement additional protection measures by providing guidance on affordable, effective, and practical solutions for covering contaminated soils, removing and replacing small quantities of soil, and other appropriate activities. The Agencies should also provide information on where and how to dispose of contaminated soil that individuals choose to remove from their properties.

To support individuals who choose to replace small quantities of contaminated soil with clean soil, the Agencies should look for ways to help residents locate sources of soil that meet the MTCA cleanup standards for arsenic and lead by identifying soil suppliers or other means. Residents may also choose to test fill soils to determine whether it is suitable for its intended use.

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