Univar USA Inc Kent

Last updated May 19, 2023

Univar is working to complete their environmental covenant. The covenant puts use restrictions on the property to protect human health and the environment. Univar completed a 5-year review to assess how well the cleanup is working. That 5-year review is currently out for public comment May 22 - June 23, 2023.

Univar USA, Inc. is a nationwide company that stores, packages, and distributes a variety of chemical products. The Univar facility in Kent has a warehouse, office, dock, and parking areas on an eleven-acre site, surrounded by other commercial and industrial properties.

Since 1974, Univar has stored, packaged, and distributed various chemical products from its Kent facility. It has operated under four other corporate names:

Van Waters and Rogers, Inc. (VWR, 1974 – 2001)

Vopak USA, Inc. (2001 – 2002)
  
Univar USA, Inc. (2002 – 2019)
   
Univar Solutions USA, Inc. (2019 – present)

These were name changes only and were not changes in ownership.

From 1974 to 2007, Univar was considered an active dangerous waste management facility. However, it was not subject to permitting requirements under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) until hazardous waste regulations became effective in 1980.

On October 31, 2007:

Ecology conditionally accepted certification for clean closure of the aboveground portions of the Dangerous Waste Management Units (DWMUs).
    
Ecology agreed to address below ground contamination under a corrective action-only RCRA permit.

On August 5, 2020, Univar renewed their corrective action hazardous waste permit. You can find copies of these documents in the "View Documents" section under the "Technical Reports" section on this site. 

Beginning in the 1990s, Ecology investigated contamination from waste management activities and accidental chemical releases. Studies showed that soil in two areas of the eastern portion of the site are contaminated with organic chemicals and chlorinated compounds.

Groundwater is also contaminated. Most of the groundwater contamination remains located beneath the property. Some contaminants in the deeper part of the aquifer have flowed north under 212th Street and beneath an adjacent industrial property.

The Department of Ecology issued an agreed order (a legal agreement) requiring Univar to plan and implement a site cleanup. In 2007, Ecology selected the preferred cleanup activities from the Feasibility Study report.

Univar has been implementing the Cleanup Action Plan, which includes:

• Treatment of contaminated areas using enhanced reductive dechlorination.
• Monitored natural attenuation for treatment of the down-gradient groundwater plume.
• Institutional controls to assure long-term protection of human health and the environment.
• An environmental covenant placed on the property. This covenant is required since contaminants in excess of cleanup standards will remain on the property after the cleanup action.
• Treatment of the source areas and ongoing groundwater sampling. The sampling shows how much groundwater contamination is still present. The sampling information is also used to assess the effectiveness of treatment, so it can be adjusted as necessary.