Fuel Processors Inc

Información en Español

The Fuel Processors, Inc. site is located at 701 Bozarth Avenue in Woodland, Washington.  The past business practices of Fuel Processors, Oil Re-Refining, Co. (ORRCO), and Shell Oil Company, the parties responsible for cleanup, resulted in the release of petroleum products and solvents that contaminated soil and groundwater.  

In late August and September, you may see workers and equipment at the northwest corner of the Fuel Processors site.  They will be using a pump system to remove "free product". Free product happens when leaks and spills of petroleum in the soil make their way into the water table.  The contamination in the water is the “free product”.  Removing some of the free product will help Ecology better understand the most effective cleanup alternatives. There will be no noise and no disruption to traffic.  If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.

We are working on the Feasibility Study to develop and evaluate cleanup options,
and the Cleanup Action Plan. Once the reports are ready they will be available
for public comment.

In 2019, the parties responsible for cleanup completed the RI. It showed that soil and groundwater contain the following substances that may be harmful to human health and the environment:

• Weathered gasoline.
• Diesel fuel.
• Used oil products.
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from petroleum.
• Chlorinated solvents (commonly used as degreasers) such as trichloroethylene (TCE).
• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and metals like lead and arsenic (that cause cancer).

The extent of soil and groundwater contamination is mostly limited to the property under the former tank farm, a loading rack canopy, and a warehouse building. Some contamination goes beyond the property boundary to the northwest under the Bozarth Avenue right-of-way.

Certain contaminants that were found in the soil and groundwater water can evaporate and move through the soil as a gas. Under certain conditions, these vapors can make their way indoors, affecting air quality in buildings above the ground. A recent assessment by Shell Oil Company shows that buildings outside the property boundary are not affected by soil vapor.  

Fuel Processors, Inc. has already begun clearing out the site. We hope you’ve seen the improvements!  Stay tuned for more information!

Shell Oil Company, Fuel Processors, Inc., and ORRCO Inc. will clean up the site and pay for cleanup costs.  The Department of Ecology is overseeing cleanup of the Fuel Processors site.

The Department of Ecology (Ecology) held a comment period from March 28–April 26, 2022 for the Remedial Investigation (RI) report.  We received no comments during the comment period and one comment shortly after it ended.  The Responsiveness Summary, addressing the one comment is available for review.

English:
https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/publications/SummaryPages/2204028.html

Español:
https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/publications/SummaryPages/2204028ES.html

There were no changes to the RI report based on the comment received.  

The city’s water supply meets Safe Drinking Water Act standards. If you have a private well within 1 mile of the site, make sure to test your water.  For more information about testing, visit the Department of Health's website at https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/drinking-water/contaminants/testing-your-water

The parties responsible for cleanup will prepare a draft feasibility study that identifies remedies for contamination and evaluates cost estimates for cleanup. This will be available for public comment.

We make our cleanup work transparent and inclusive by offering the public opportunities to review and comment on cleanup documents and decisions before they are final. Our public involvement process is based on the Model Toxics Control Act, which lays out specific ways we inform and engage the public.

We will update this page with information about how to participate during comment periods and other activities, such as public meetings. To learn about other cleanup sites in your neighborhood, visit Ecology’s website, What’s In My Neighborhood at https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/neighborhood/.

Shell Oil Company, Fuel Processors, Inc., y ORRCO Inc. limpiarán el sitio y pagarán por los gastos de limpieza. El Departamento de Ecología supervisará las actividades de limpieza.

El sitio está ubicado en 701 Bozarth Avenue en Woodland. Pasadas prácticas empresariales contaminaron el suelo y el agua subterránea con sustancias que pueden ser dañinas a la salud humana y al medio ambiente.

En el 2019, los PLPs completaron el RI. Este demostró que el suelo y el agua subterránea contienen las siguientes sustancias que pueden ser dañinas a la salud humana y al medio ambiente:
• Gasolina intemperizada.
• Combustible diésel.
• Productos de aceite usado.
• Compuestos orgánicos volátiles (VOCs, por sus siglas en inglés) de petróleo.
• Solventes clorinados (comúnmente usados como desengrasantes) tales como el tricloroetileno (TCE, por sus siglas en inglés).
• Bifenilos policlorinados (PCBs; por sus siglas en inglés) y metales como el plomo y arsénico (los cuáles causan cáncer).

La extensión de la contaminación del suelo y el agua subterránea está mayormente limitada a la propiedad en el antiguo terminal de tanques, el pabellón del surtidor de combustible, y a un edificio de almacenaje. Algo de la contaminación se extiende más allá del límite de la propiedad hacia el noroeste, bajo la servidumbre de paso de Bozarth Avenue.

Cuando el suelo y el agua subterránea están contaminados, vapores pueden migrar al interior de edificios y causar niveles poco saludables de sustancias peligrosas en aire interior. Una evaluación reciente hecha por Shell Oil Company demuestra que los edificios fuera del límite de la propiedad no son afectados por el vapor en el suelo.

El agua potable provista por la ciudad es segura para tomar. Si usted tiene un pozo privado dentro de una milla del sitio, asegúrese de hacerle pruebas a su agua.

Cuando se termine el periodo de comentario, las partes responsables por la limpieza prepararán un Estudio de Viabilidad (FS; por sus siglas en inglés) para comparar diferentes formas de limpiar el sitio y determinar cuánto costará y cuánto tiempo tardará. El público podrá comentar sobre el FS cuando el reporte esté listo.