EVERETT Three properties, two in Everett and one in Stanwood, have been added to the state Department of Ecology’s Hazardous Sites List.
Sites are ranked on a scale of one to five, with a one representing the highest level of concern.
A property located at 510 W. Casino Road was ranked a five on the list, as was a former dry cleaning business located at 3011 Grand Ave. Both are in Everett.
A Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railway site located between 271st Street NW and 292nd Street NW in Stanwood ranked a four on the list.
“Because (the properties) have received a four and five ranking, that typically means there is no imminent threat to public health,” said Curt Hart, a spokesman for the department.
All three sites showed petroleum contamination, which is not uncommon, Hart said.
The Everett sites were placed on the list because of concern about potential groundwater pollution from contaminants. Contaminated soil has been removed from both sites in the past.
The Stanwood site was listed because the department didn’t receive an official cleanup report showing contaminants were removed from the site, Hart said. He added that a contractor did contact the department to say contaminated soil was removed, but that an official cleanup report is required.
Potentially contaminated sites are assessed by local health departments and the state.
Information collected to rank each site includes the amount of contaminants present and the level of toxicity at the site.
A site’s ranking also is based on the risk it poses to people and the environment. A toxic site in or near a neighborhood will likely be cleaned up quicker than a site in the middle of nowhere, Hart said.
The state’s Model Toxics Control Act specifies that those responsible for polluting a site are also responsible for cleaning it up. Cleanup is required whenever contamination is above limits set by the act.
The department has identified about 1,100 toxic sites. Its list is updated each year in February and August.
Forty-nine newly assessed sites statewide were listed in the August 2007 report.
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