Tacoma Metals Site

The Washington Department of Ecology held a public comment period for the Tacoma Metals site between April 27 and May 26, 2020.  No comments were received.  

The Potentially Liable Parties (International Paper, General Metals of Tacoma, the Estate of Sophie Sussman, and Tacoma Metals) will proceed with the following proposed activities:

Write a work plan, and investigate and find cleanup alternatives for:    

•  Soils near the City of Tacoma Right of Way and the former Simpson property. 
•  Soils beneath an area where a former 450,000 gallon above ground storage tank was located and northeast of that area (toward the Puyallup River). 
•  Groundwater beneath the site in the area of City of Tacoma right-of-way and in the northeast portion of the site.

In addition, the Potentially Liable Parties (PLPs) will find out whether contaminated groundwater is moving off the site and impacting the Puyallup River.  

The PLPS will update the 2018 Revised Draft Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study with the additional data so that Ecology can select a final cleanup remedy for the site and cleanup can move forward.  

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The Tacoma Metals site is located at 1919 Portland Avenue in the Tacoma Tideflats. The site is currently an empty paved lot. 

The following industries operated on the site between the early 1900’s and 1999:

 • Creosoting plant  - 1900s to 1930s

• Coke plant - early 1940s

• Metals recycling facility - 1950s to 1999


The practices and operations of these industries contaminated soil and groundwater.  In 1988, Ecology ranked the site as a 2 on the Hazardous Sites List.  Site investigations have been ongoing since 1989.  Partial cleanups were conducted in 1989 and again between 2005 and 2007 when unexploded military ordnance and other scrap metal were found during the construction of the Puyallup River side channel.