Stench led official to violations

A Snohomish Health District official followed her nose to uncover what the district says is a violation of state pollution laws.

Last fall, the health district discovered that nearly 2,000 tons of sludge containing arsenic, cadmium and other heavy metals from a Seattle water treatment plant had been deposited at a gravel pit at 18827 Yew Way.

Another 1,661 tons had been taken to a landfill at 6300 Glenwood Ave. in Everett. Both sites are owned by Rinker Materials of Everett.

Contaminants at gravel pit

Following are readings of contaminants taken at the Rinker disposal site in Maltby:

* Arsenic, 14.3 to 68 parts per million; 20 parts per million are allowed.

* Cadmium, .78 to 6.89 parts per million; 2 parts per million are allowed.

* Chromium, 15.2 to 31.5 parts per million; 19 parts per million are allowed.

Gary Hanada, section manager for the health district, said environmental health inspectors make monthly visits to two sites in Snohomish County that have permits to accept inert waste – material that is not considered an environmental hazard.

One is Rinker’s Everett site; the other is AAA Rock in Monroe.

Health inspector Kathy Pierson happened to be at Rinker’s Everett site in October when several truckloads of brownish-red material with a fishy smell were brought in, she said.

“I saw it and smelled it,” Pierson said.

It came out in a discussion with an employee at the site that the same type of material had been taken to the Maltby site in 2004 and 2005. That site is now proposed for development of a motocross track.

Rinker’s Everett facility has a permit to accept material such as soils, concrete, asphalt and brick, Hanada said. It may also accept material of the type that Pierson saw and smelled, but only in low concentrations.

The Maltby site, however, is not authorized to take any type of waste, only clean dirt and some concrete and asphalt, Pierson said. Such sites are generally not inspected, Hanada said.

The district has ordered Rinker to submit a plan by April 4 for cleaning up both the Everett and Maltby sites. The material will have to be dug up and taken to a landfill equipped with a lining to protect groundwater, Pierson said. Groundwater and soil at such sites are frequently tested, she added.

Rinker disputes the findings. The data it was given indicated the material was within legal limits for toxic materials, said Graham Hardwick, vice president and general manager of Rinker. The company has hired an engineer to study the situation and issue a report.

Seattle contracts with American Water, based in Voorhees, N.J., to run its treatment plant on the Tolt River in King County. American Water subcontracts with CDM of Cambridge, Mass., to haul away the sludge from its backwash filtration system, said Andy Ryan, a spokesman for Seattle Public Utilities.

The material was hauled to the Maltby site from October 2004 to March 2005, and has been taken to the Everett site since last fall, said Kevin Tilden, a spokesman for American Water.

The city of Seattle is “very concerned about this,” Ryan said.

He said the city has reminded American Water that under its contract with the city, it is required to dispose of waste material in an environmentally responsible manner and in accordance with the law.

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