People who live in those homes no longer have to change their daily routines to protect themselves. So far, Ecology s contractors have removed 3,086 cubic yards of contaminated soil, which is enough to cover a football field 22 inches deep. In addition, they ve installed 22,600 square feet of sod, which is enough to cover half a football field. The neighborhood was built on the site of a lead and arsenic smelter that was demolished between 1912 and 1915. Most of the yards that sit directly on the old smelter site have now been cleaned or fenced off, but hundreds of homes and yards built on soil contaminated by arsenic released from the smelter s smokestacks still need to be tested and cleaned.
Ecology plans to continue cleaning yards in the coming years as funding permits.
Ecology is cleaning the yards because Asarco Inc., which has been named as the potentially liable party, refused a state order to clean the most-contaminated properties remaining on the site. Asarco has already purchased 37 homes on the site, demolishing and fencing off 22 properties. A hearing on Asarco s liability is scheduled in Thurston County Superior court in December. The cleanup is designed to protect people from the effects of long-term exposure to arsenic. Scientists have documented more than 30 different health problems, including cancer, that could be caused by continuous exposure to small amounts of arsenic.