OSWER/OSRTI 

Washington, DC 20460 

NATIONAL PRIORITIES LIST (NPL) 

***Final Site*** September 2011 

NORTH RIDGE ESTATES Klamath Falls, Oregon 

Klamath County 

 Site Location: 

North Ridge Estates (NRE) is located approximately 3 miles north of Klamath Falls, in Klamath County, Oregon, at the site of a 

former World War II (WWII) medical facility. The site includes the former Marine Recuperation Barracks (MRB) 

location and the Kingsley Firing Range. 

 Site History: 

The site was originally developed in 1944 to treat Marines suffering from tropical diseases contracted during WWII. The base 

was active from April 1944 until February 1946. The Marine Recuperation Barracks (MRB) comprised 82 buildings. Many of the 

materials used for improvements on the site contained asbestos, such as siding, roofing, floor tiles and steam pipe insulation. The 

State of Oregon acquired the property in October 1947 to be used for the Oregon Technology Institute (OTI). During OTI’s 

occupancy of the site, six structures were demolished. OTI moved from the site in 1964 and ownership transferred to the General 

Services Administration. From 1965 to 1977, a partnership of private individuals owned the property. During this time, at least 22 

buildings were demolished. In December 1977, the property was purchased by the MBK partnership for development. 

In January 2006, a federal consent decree was approved with parties including MBK, the homeowners, the Department of Justice 

and EPA. The majority of the settlement compensated homeowners to allow them to relocate to new permanent residences. The 

consent decree also provided for a receiver to manage and hold title to the properties as a potential resource for funding cleanup 

activities. As a result of the January 2006 consent decree, the NRE site comprises a mixture of privately owned properties and 

receiver-managed parcels. 

 Site Contamination/Contaminants: 

Asbestos used in the original construction of the MRB is the main source of asbestos in site soil. When buildings containing 

asbestos were demolished, some of the debris was consolidated into waste piles or burial pits, and the rest was dispersed in 

surface and subsurface soil in the vicinity of the demolition. 

 Potential Impacts on Surrounding Community/Environment: 

The presence of asbestos in surface and subsurface soils, and its continuing transport from the subsurface to the surface presents 

an unacceptable human health risk to residents in the area from inhalation of asbestos fibers. 

 Response Activities (to date): 

EPA conducted a series of emergency removal actions between 2003 and 2005 to reduce the volume of friable asbestos that had 

reached the surface due to frost heave and erosion. While large amounts were removed each year, the removals could not 

permanently eliminate unacceptable risks to residents of the site. Residents were temporarily relocated from the site for 3 months 

in 2005. Additional removals were conducted between 2005 and 2009, which consolidated large volumes of asbestos into on-site 

repositories and reduced the amount in surface soils but were not able to permanently eliminate unacceptable risks to the local 

population. 

 Need for NPL Listing: 

The Governor of Oregon has requested NRE be placed on the NPL using Oregon’s one state NPL site selection under the 

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). This nomination has the support of the 

Department of Environmental Quality, local citizens, stakeholders and elected officials. There is no other viable cleanup 

alternative. 

[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/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.