Ledger

The University of Washington Tacoma is beginning the first stage of an Environmental Protection Agency mandated cleanup of toxic groundwater, with the extent and scope of the project still not fully known.

Decades ago, chemical contaminants from various now defunct businesses began to seep into Tacoma’s groundwater. Exactly which businesses and how long ago are not fully known at this point, but UWT is conducting an ongoing investigation into the source of the chemicals, along with a cleanup effort that is just starting to gain steam. A full removal of the contaminants could cost more than $6.4 million.

The existence of groundwater contaminants beneath the university’s campus came as no surprise to UWT planners when they bought the land, considering Tacoma has been an industrial city for so many years.

The university has been part of a major effort to track information in historical records, according to Karen VanDusen, director of UW’s environmental health and safety program. "We’re going way back in history to find these things," said VanDusen, "but some of this stuff is from industries that were there 100 years ago. Their records may not have been all that accurate."

The names of the contaminants are a mouthful: trichloroethene (TCE), benzene (B), total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), tetrachloroethene (PCE), and vinyl chloride (VC). Most of the chemicals in the groundwater are rated by the EPA as likely human carcinogens. Benzene is usually a sign of gasoline specifically, whereas TPH could be a combination from different kinds of oils.

TPH is "kind of a bulk measure of gunk in oil," said Jim Gawel, a professor at UWT who specializes in biogeochemistry and that gunk is "usually a sign of either existing or prior underground storage tanks." Before the convenience of nearby gas stations, individuals and businesses owned gasoline tanks or oil tanks for their vehicles. A lot of those tanks were never totally removed from the area. In some places, "people just lost track of where [the tanks] are," Gawel said.

While most of the contaminants in the groundwater are toxic, the plumes of contaminated groundwater pose no health risk to humans or the environment just yet. The concern is focused on the groundwater seeping downhill. The contaminants in the groundwater could eventually reach the Thea Foss Waterway, leading to further pollution in a larger body of water such as south Puget Sound.

At this point, "the issue comes to [the contaminants] getting into the aquatic system," said Gawel. The contaminants "could accumulate in shellfish, in sediments, and eventually infect things like flounder and bottom fish." Since contamination of anything besides the groundwater itself is not an issue right now, "the whole point is to not let [the contamination] get to that stage," Gawel said.

Perhaps the most publicized source of contamination, the Shaub-Ellison parcel on campus is contaminated with petroleum products that probably leaked from the Shaub-Ellison tire retailer and vehicle service business that once stood there. The site is between the Walsh Gardner building and Garretson Woodruff Pratt.

UWT first reported the installation of treatment systems on the site in August 2006, but "we haven’t really fired it up yet," said VanDusen. The system will inject air into the groundwater and allow a chemical reaction to occur that gets rid of the contaminants. "It’s like speeding up the natural process that occurs in soil, putting oxygen down into the ground" said VanDusen, "It’s a pretty standard and accepted methodology."

UWT knew it was inheriting the groundwater problem when the campus opened in 1997, but Tacoma’s recent urban renewal plans have brought the issue to light once again. Part of the urban revitalization involves various forms of construction on and around campus.

If construction crews dig down into areas where there are contaminants, then certain kinds of restrictions go into place, said VanDusen. As part of a worker health and safety law, construction workers must be trained and protected as a precaution for contact with the contaminants. Even though the next phases of construction at the university appear not to have contaminants under them, the toxic plumes could affect construction in the future.

According to Gawel, groundwater pollution is one of the longest, hardest things to deal with. In the UWT’s case, "you’re talking about huge volumes of material," he said.

Unlike soil contamination, which can be disposed of comparatively easily, groundwater contamination is a very complicated issue, VanDusen said. Cleaning will take time, and working in an urban area especially hampers efforts.

"It gets tricky, because you’re working in and around buildings and roads," Gawel pointed out. Fifty test wells drilled around the campus over the past several years have helped map the plumes of contaminated groundwater so far.

University contractors plan to sink several more test wells near the intersection of South Market Street and South Jefferson Avenue in order to identify the origin of a large contaminated plume that is going downhill. The origin of the plume will help determine how the cleanup is financed.

The cost of the cleanup is funded in several ways. To begin, university officials factored the cost of dealing with various environmental issues into the cost of development for the school. In specific instances, the university has been able to access federal grants to help pay for assessment work.

In a special program, the EPA gives "brown field grants," which are intended to mitigate environmental impacts in areas where there is good control in perpetuity of the property. According to VanDusen, the brown fields money "takes a less than ideal site and puts it to good public use."

The university used an EPA grant of about $200,000 to help pay for installing the treatment systems at the Shaub-Ellison parcel. At a recent meeting with Washington state senators, university administrators discussed whether other federal cleanup monies could be targeted toward institutions like UWT. At present, certain federal guidelines suggest the university could not be included as a recipient of those funds.

Mike Wark, UWT’s director of public relations, said the university is exploring whether it can make a case. "The rules are that if you have contamination of land on your property, it’s your responsibility to clean it up." However, "if you can show that the contamination was generated off your property, others can be required to clean it up," Wark said.

A feasibility study is underway to determine where the major contamination plumes originate, and the completion of that study will give the university more information about where it can look for money. "Right now we’re trying to figure out what we’re responsible for cleaning up," Wark said.