Yakima Valley Spray

Facility Site ID: 445 Cleanup Site ID: 3664

What Is The Yakima Railroad Area?

The Yakima Valley Spray property is a part of the Yakima Railroad Area (YRRA). The Yakima Railroad Area is approximately six square miles in size and includes parts of the cities of Yakima and Union Gap. The Yakima Railroad Area groundwater is contaminated with tetrachloroethylene (PCE or PERC) from past industrial use, and is centered around the railroad/industrial corridor of the greater Yakima area.

PCE is a manufactured chemical that is widely used for dry cleaning of fabrics and for metal-degreasing. It is also used to make other chemicals and is used in some consumer products.

Exposure to PCE can be from the air, chemical use, soil, or water.  PCE can affect the kidneys, liver, nervous system, and reproductive system, as well as unborn children. There is also an increased risk of certain types of cancer.

More information about potential sources of PCE and associated health risks can be found on the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) website.

Site Description

Yakima Valley Spray and Shell Oil formulated pesticides and distributed bulk oil at this facility from 1908 to 1974. During this time, releases of toxic substances occurred over about two acres of the present U-Haul of Inland Northwest property and also part of the adjacent BNSF property. Releases to the soil include at least 62 contaminants, some of which migrated to the 14-20 foot deep local groundwater. 

From 1968 to 1973, a 6,000-gallon tank of PCE existed at the site. 

After a Site Hazard Assessment conducted in 1990, the Site was ranked a “1” on the Hazardous Sites List. The Hazardous Sites List is a statewide list of contaminated properties.  Sites can be ranked from a “1” to “5”.  A rank of “1” is the highest level of environmental concern compared to other sites on the List, and a rank of “5” is the lowest.

What's Been Done?

In 2004, contaminated soils were excavated and removed from the site. 

Water quality monitoring wells were installed and have been monitored quarterly.

What's Happening Now?

Site use restrictions called institutional controls are in effect

Institutional controls can be fences, signs, or restrictions on how the property is used. For instance, an institutional control may prohibit installing drinking water wells or disturbing a protective cap that isolates contamination. These restrictions keep the contamination contained and keep people from being exposed to the contamination. The controls are usually listed in environmental covenants recorded with the county.

Periodic reviews are required when institutional controls are required at a site. Ecology conducts reviews to make sure the controls remain effective and the cleanup still protects human health and the environment. We conduct periodic reviews about every five years.

Environmental Covenant

County Recording #: 7603640
County Recording Date: 3/17/2008

Restrictions/Requirements

  • Prohibit Soil Disturbance
  • Restrict All Ground Water Extraction/Well Installation
  • Restrict Land Use

Restricted Media

  • Groundwater
  • Soil
Legal 11
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Yakima Railroad Area Bottled Water program EO Dismissal Memo 2/7/2018 Order Notice of Satisfaction/Status
Yakima Valley Spray Environmental Covenant No. 7603640 3/17/2008 Environmental Covenant; Alternative Mechanism
Yakima Valley Spray CAP Consent Decree No. DE 1214 3/18/2004 Consent Decree
Yakima Valley Spray Final PLP ltr - BNSF 7/22/2003 Final Potentially Liable Person Status Letter
Yakima Valley Spray CAP EO No. DE 01TCPCR-3249 10/11/2001 Enforcement Order
Yakima Valley Spray cleanup EO No. DE 97TC-C182 11/19/1997 Enforcement Order
Yakima Railroad Area Bottled Water EO No. DE 92TC-C108 Amendment 1/28/1993 Enforcement Order
Yakima Railroad Area Bottled Water EO No. DE 92TC-C108 Amendment 2/28/1992 Enforcement Order
Yakima Railroad Area Bottled Water EO No. DE 92TC-C108 2/11/1992 Enforcement Order
Yakima Valley Spray RI/FS EO No. DE 91TC-C453 12/16/1991 Enforcement Order
Yakima Valley Spray Final PLP ltr - U-Haul 10/23/1991 Final Potentially Liable Person Status Letter
Public Information 2
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Yakima Valley Spray CD fact sheet 9/1/2003 Fact Sheet\Public Notices
Yakima Valley Spray Groundwater Monitoring EO fact sheet 11/21/1997 Fact Sheet\Public Notices
Technical Reports 9
Document Title Document Date Document Type
Yakima Valley Spray - Ecology Comments on GWMR and Request for Site Closure 3/11/2024 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Yakima Valley Spray - ERTS 696549 initial investigation report 2/5/2024 Initial Investigation Report
Yakima Valley Spray 2022 Groundwater Monitoring Report 3/1/2023 Groundwater Monitoring Report
Yakima Valley Spray 2021 Groundwater Monitoring Report 3/23/2022 Groundwater Monitoring Report
Yakima Valley Spray - ECY Approval of 2021 GWM program 4/9/2021 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Yakima Valley Spray - ECY Comments on GWMR 9/2017 & 3/2018 Events 8/8/2019 Site Specific Administrative Document - other (Administrative correspondence)
Yakima Valley Spray U-Haul Semi-Annual Groundwater Monitoring Report September 2014 12/11/2014 Groundwater Monitoring Report
Yakima Valley Spray-Engineering Design Report 10/16/2003 Site Specific Technical Document - other
Yakima Valley Spray U-Haul Final Cleanup Action Plan 8/14/2001 Cleanup Action Plan
There may be more documents related to this site. To obtain documents not available electronically, you will need to make a public records request.

Places to see print documents

  • Central Regional Office
    1250 W Alder St
    Union Gap, 98903-0009
    Please schedule an appointment to view print documents at this location.

Contaminants 7

Contaminant Type
Soil
Groundwater
Surface Water
Air
Sediment
Bedrock
Other Contaminant - Base/Neutral/Acid Organics C C
Halogenated Organics - Halogenated Organics C C
Metals - Metals Priority Pollutants C C
Halogenated Organics - Halogenated Solvents C C
Non-Halogenated Organics - Petroleum-Diesel RB C
Non-Halogenated Organics - Petroleum-Gasoline RB RB
Pesticides - Pesticides-Unspecified C C
S
Suspected
C
Confirmed Above Cleanup Levels
B
Below Cleanup Levels
RA
Remediated-Above
RB
Remediated-Below
R
Remediated
This contaminant list was based on our best information at the time it was entered. It may not reflect current conditions at the site.