OSWER/OSRTI

Washington, DC 20460

NATIONAL PRIORITIES LIST (NPL)

[The description of the site (release) is based on information available at the time the site was evaluated with the HRS. The description may 

change as additional information is gathered on the sources and extent of contamination.]

For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to 

these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on 

the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/index.asp or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.

***Final Site*** May 2012

BREMERTON GASWORKS Bremerton, Washington

Kitsap County

 Site Location:

The Bremerton Gasworks site is located in Bremerton, Washington along the Port Washington Narrows. The site is 

located approximately a mile and a half from downtown Bremerton. 

 Site History:

The site includes discharges from an outfall pipe from the Bremerton Gasworks facility, a former gasification facility 

which used the carbureted water gas method from approximately 1930 to the mid-1950s. Between the mid-1950s and 

1963, the facility produced gas by blending propane and air. By 1968, the gasoline and oil above-ground tanks had 

been removed and by the 1980s the remaining gas plant above-ground features had been removed. The majority of the 

former facility area is currently vacant, although surrounding properties are used for commercial and industrial 

purposes.

 Site Contamination/Contaminants:

Various contaminants have been detected within upland sources, ground water beneath the site, and within the 

Washington Narrows sediments. Site contaminants include tars which are associated with the gasification processes 

used at the former facility. These tars contain volatile aromatics and carcinogenic polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Heavy 

metals and benzene, among other contaminants, were also found at the site. Upland sources include soil contamination 

to a depth of approximately 30 feet with contaminant concentrations above the EPA Regional Screening Levels 

(RSLs). Ground water beneath the site is also contaminated. Sediments in the Washington Narrows adjacent to the site 

contain concentrations of contaminants above the Adverse Effects Levels set forth in the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Screening Quick Reference Table. 

 Potential Impacts on Surrounding Community/Environment:

Site sources are potentially contaminating the Washington Narrows, a part of the Puget Sound designated a national 

priority as one of the nation’s great water bodies. Two species of federally listed threatened fish are present in the 

vicinity of the site. Puget Sound is used as a sport and commercial fishery. The Suquamish Tribe has also used the area 

as a subsistence fishery.

 Response Activities (to date):

In the fall of 2010, the US Coast Guard issued an order to Cascade Natural Gas to remove a pipe that was spilling tars 

into the Washington Narrows. Forty feet of pipe were removed and the pipe was plugged. Contaminated sediments 

adjacent to the pipe were also removed. In addition, visibly contaminated sediments were covered with organo-clay 

mats and clean beach materials which will serve as a temporary cap. The removal action did not address the majority 

of impacted sediments, upland sources or contaminated ground water.

 Need for NPL Listing:

The Washington State Department of Ecology has requested that the EPA be the lead regulatory agency for this site. 

The scope and complexity of the site requires a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study to address site sources, 

ground water and sediments. The EPA received letters from the state and Suquamish Tribe supporting listing the site 

on the NPL.