Apple Valley Elementary School

Based upon cleanup activities conducted at the site and the recording of the environmental covenant, Ecology determined the site is no longer a threat to human health and the environment. Ecology issued a no further action determination in February 2023. In January 2024, the site was removed from the Hazardous Sites List.

Schools in Yakima county were sampled for lead and arsenic contamination as part of Ecology’s Area-Wide Soil Contamination Project. Soil beneath the grass of the playground at the Apple Valley Elementary School contains lead and arsenic; sampling and analysis indicates that contamination exceeds state cleanup levels.

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 from the late 1800s until the late 1940s 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.

Ecology conducted an Interim Action during the summer of 2012. An Interim Action is a partial or short-term cleanup of contamination and is meant to reduce exposure to harmful contaminants while a long-term cleanup plan is worked on. Ecology's preferred cleanup alternative consisted primarily of placing clean soil on top of the existing soil to prevent exposure to contaminated soil and establishing new grass in this clean soil. Playground areas incorporated the geotextile fabric and a minimum of 12” of engineered wood fiber. Bark mulch and rock gravel were used in other landscape areas. A dedicated bus lane was added to the construction contract as a change order and capped contaminated soil under a gravel-base course and asphalt. The plan included modification of the existing irrigation system to maintain the turf grass cover and installation of a storm water drainage system to prevent runoff from the parking area. Ecology determined that this alternative will provide the necessary barrier to prevent human exposure to lead and arsenic. 

In 2019, the school was demolished and a new school was built and opened in 2021. Construction activities for the new school included excavating more of the contaminated soil, regrading the site, new geotextile fabric, landscaping materials, clean soil and sod caps placed over existing contaminated soil, and new parking lots and walkways.

In 2022, an environmental covenant was recorded on the site because not all of the contamination was removed. An environmental covenant is a legal agreement that outlines terms and restrictions of activities that may impact or threaten the continued protection of human health and the environment.