Snohomish County business
Port cleanup: $2 million or more

By Times Snohomish County Bureau

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The Port of Everett has learned that the cleanup of the North Marina will cost at least $2 million — a small price compared with the $250 million the Port may spend to turn the 65-acre site into a complex of condos, retail businesses and offices.

Contaminants found include primarily arsenic, with copper and lead found at two sites, according to Landau Associates, an Edmonds consulting firm the Port hired to test the North Marina's soil and groundwater.

Landau also discovered three areas containing carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — cancer-causing agents that are used in creosote and often found at industrial sites.

The company said a limited amount of PCBs, another carcinogen, is also present. Methane, a byproduct of decaying wood, is present but poses no danger, the firm said.

The $2 million estimate includes encasing or paving 20,000 to 30,000 cubic yards of contaminated dirt, most of which is within three feet of the surface.

The Port must develop a cleanup plan and submit it to the state Department of Ecology.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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