ASARCO Ordered to Clean Up Wash. Site

The Washington Department of Ecology has ordered Asarco Inc. to remove the most highly arsenic-laced material from its former smelter site in Everett.

Asarco must remove an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 cubic yards of soil contaminated with 3,000 or more parts per million of arsenic.

Ecology's order is an interim measure to protect the public and the environment from contamination at the site where the smelter used to stand.

A final cleanup for homes and businesses in Northeast Everett, adjacent to the site of former smelter, remains the subject of an Asarco court challenge against Ecology.

"This order is not a final cleanup, but it will remove the worst of what's in the fenced area," said site manager David South. "There's so much arsenic there that any inadvertent contact with the soil puts people in danger."

While Asarco is suing to avoid cleaning up about 400 acres of residential

and commercial properties near the former smelter site, it has not challenged its responsibility to clean up the five acres it owns in the fenced area.  That property is the subject of the order.

Meanwhile, Ecology has cleaned 38 residential properties near the former smelter site using funds appropriated by the state legislature, and nine more homes will be cleaned up this summer.  About 600 houses and yards still need at least some cleaning.