A site along the Columbia River in northeast Washington is so contaminated with lead and arsenic, it’s not safe for people living and recreating there, especially children and women of childbearing age.
That’s why, decades after pollution began flowing down from a smelting facility in Canada, the EPA has added the site to the Superfund National Priorities List.
EPA made the announcement in a news release Friday.
It mentions sediment in the river is contaminated with metals including zinc, copper, cadmium, selenium, lead and mercury that pose a risk to fish, wildlife, birds and other organisms.
The EPA blames the contamination on the Teck Metals Ltd smelting facility 10 miles up the river in Trail, British Columbia. It also cites as a source the former Le Roi smelter in Northport.
The U.S. has been asking Canada to pay for damages related to the Teck facility since the 1930s.
The Confederate Tribes of the Colville Reservation petitioned the EPA to conduct a study of the area in 1999.
In 2004, the tribes filed a federal lawsuit against over the cleanup. It’s been tied up in litigation ever since.
“The Colville Tribes is pleased to hear that the EPA has listed the Upper Columbia River as a Superfund site,” said Jarred-Michael Erickson, the Chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. “The river has been used for decades as a waste disposal site and that pollution not only damaged the physical river, but has also cost the Tribes enormously in terms of lost use and enjoyment of the river.”
The contaminated area
The area impacted covers 150 miles of the Columbia River, from Grand Coulee Dam to the U.S. – Canada border.
The EPA conducted a study on the health risks associated with the contamination.
Some clean-up has already taken place at properties determined to be heavily contaminated.
The EPA also studied fish and water quality.
The study determined that some untreated water samples did not meet drinking water standards for aluminum, iron, lead and manganese.
At times, the EPA has instructed beaches and campgrounds to close in the area because of high levels of metal in sand and sediment.
Superfund declaration
Adding the site to the Superfund list should allow for an organized clean-up and remediation of the site.
It clears the way for federal funding to pay for clean-up that can often take years.
There are several Superfund sites in Eastern Washington, including portions of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, the Midnite Mine site in Wellpinit, four waste areas at Fairchild Air Force Base and the Kaiser Aluminum (Mead Works) facility.
You can see a map of current Superfund sites and sites that have been cleaned up at this link.
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