Marine Fluid Systems Inc

The Marine Fluid Systems property consists of King County parcel number 1325039001 (Property), which covers approximately 2.5 acres of land located along the north shore of the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Approximately 10,600 square feet of the parcel are inundated by the ship canal.

The western-most buildings are located partially atop a wooden wharf that was constructed in 1919. The Property was operated as a shipyard (Olsen & Sunde) from 1926 to 1956. West Coast Heating & Plumbing Company owned the Property from 1956 to 1962. Florence Evans (Union Bay Shipbuilding) owned the Property between 1971 and 1999. Ballard Land Management purchased the Property in 1999.

The Property is utilized primarily by Marine Fluid Systems, which became the master tenant in 1997, but has maintained a shop there since 1994. In 2006 or 2007, three buildings were demolished and a new 2-story, 37,785 square foot warehouse/office building was constructed on the northern portion of the Property.

Marine Fluid Systems’ main activities on the southern portion of the Property are repair and maintenance of boats under 120 feet length. The commercial building on the northern portion of the Property is used for industrial activities and office space leased by Crawford Nautical School, TerraSond Limited (marine geospatial mapping), Schmidt Ocean Institute (oceanographic research), and Marine System Inc. (marine engine repair and maintenance).

The Site is defined as total petroleum hydrocarbons in the diesel and oil ranges (TPH-D and TPH-O, respectively), PCBs, cPAHs, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury in soil and TPH-D and TPH-O in groundwater. Sediments may also be impacted.
 

A periodic review is conducted every five years following a cleanup action when institutional controls are used as part of the remedy, as required by the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). The purpose of the periodic review is to evaluate current site conditions and to ensure continued protection of human health and the environment.

The 2022 Periodic Review concluded:

• Contamination on the adjacent Trident Seafoods property appears to be part of the Site with a common source(s) of contamination as the Marine Fluid Systems property.  Ecology’s 2000 NFA opinion indicates that the remedy is protective of human health and the environment at the Site and that no further action is warranted.  But the selected remedy is not protective of the Trident Seafoods portion of the Site.  Since further remedial action under MTCA is still necessary elsewhere at the Site, the 2000 NFA opinion does not accurately represent Site conditions and should be rescinded.

• Ecology’s 2000 NFA opinion indicates that it does not pertain to contaminated sediments, and that contaminated sediments may be addressed by Ecology in the future.  Sediments in the submerged portion of and adjacent to the property appear to have been impacted by sandblasting grit previously observed in the partially submerged dock area or by other Site operations.  The selected remedy is not protective of sediments, and the extent of contaminated sediments has not been characterized.

• The shop interior on the Marine Fluid Systems property has an unpaved dirt floor.  Also, a small area of pavement to the southeast of the marine railway was deteriorated. There is a potential for worker exposure to contaminated soil in areas that are not capped.  The shop floor should be capped/paved, and deteriorated or cracked pavement should be repaired.

• Additional details can be found in the 2022 Periodic Review report.

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