Lee Elementary School

The Lee Elementary School was cleaned up as part of the Area-Wide Soil Contamination Project.

Area-wide soil contamination is defined as contamination above state cleanup levels that is dispersed over a large geographic area. The soil contamination in this case is a result of central Washington’s orchard industry. Much of the region consists of current or former orchard land, where long-term pesticide application has taken its toll. Lead arsenate, a pesticide commonly used between the years of 1905 and 1947 to control the codling moth, has been identified as the primary source of increased lead and arsenic concentrations.

Due to their chemical structure, lead and arsenic tend to bond with soil particles and often remain at or near ground surface level for decades, creating an exposure pathway through inhalation and/or ingestion.

Although lead and arsenic are naturally occurring elements, elevated concentrations have been proven to have a negative impact on human health. Young children are generally more susceptible than adults, which is why Ecology has focused remediation efforts on schools.

In 2005, the site was added to Ecology’s Hazardous Sites List with a ranking of “5”. Sites on the Hazardous Sites List are a priority for Ecology, and have completed a Site Hazard Assessment (SHA). A SHA provides information about the environmental risk of the site. Risk is based on the amount of contaminants, how toxic they are, and how easily they can come in contact with people and the environment. Sites are ranked relative to each other on a scale of “1” to “5”; with a rank of “5” being the lowest.

During the summer of 2008, Ecology conducted a cleanup and placed all contaminated soils under a geotextile fabric barrier. Then, six inches of clean topsoil were placed on top on the barrier fabric. This cleanup method, referred to as capping, is cost-effective and prevents human exposure to contaminated soil.

Following cleanup, an environmental covenant was recorded for the property with the Douglas County Assessor. The purpose of the environmental covenant is to provide a permanent legal record of the contamination that remains on the property, and to prevent activities at the site that might disturb or damage the soil cap.

Based on the cleanup completed and environmental covenant in place, Ecology has determined the site does not pose a threat to human health or the environment. A no further action determination was issued in April 2011 and the site has been removed from the Hazardous Sites List.