Tacoma Smelter Plume Map
Soil Safety Program
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Studies & Maps
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For almost 100 years, the Asarco Company operated a copper smelter in Tacoma. Air pollution from the smelter settled on the surface soil over a vast region - more than 1,000 square miles of the Puget Sound basin. Arsenic, lead, and other heavy metals are still in the soil as a result of this pollution.

The Department of Ecology and the local health departments in King, Pierce, Kitsap, and Thurston counties have been working since 1999 to:

• Determine the area, or "footprint" of soil polluted with arsenic and lead from smelter operations.  (See Studies & Maps)
• Test the amount of arsenic and lead in soils where children play.
• Provide education and outreach to affected communities regarding how people can reduce their risk from exposure to polluted soil.

This process and action plans are documented in the Tacoma Smelter Plume Management Plan.
 

Focus on child use areas within the contaminated area

As of 2006, over 300 child-use facilities within the contaminated area have been tested in King and Pierce Counties. Approximately 10% percent in mainland King County, 30% on Vashon/Maury Island, and 30% percent in Pierce County have levels of arsenic and/or lead above the state standards. We and our partners are working with parents, teachers, childcare providers and the general public within the contaminated area to test for soil pollution and take actions to reduce exposure.

In 2005, the Legislature passed a law (RCW 70.140) to keep children safe from polluted soil. The Soil Safety Program is one result of this new law. Read more here:

For further information about the Tacoma Smelter Plume project, please visit the Dirt Alert Archives.