RSSPesticide cleanup takes 11 years, $3 million
Environmental project wraps up at hop farm outside GrandviewYakima Herald-Republic
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GRANDVIEW, Wash. -- After 11 years and more than $3 million, regulators say they're done with one of the Lower Valley's largest environmental cleanup jobs.
Officials plan to remove Alexander Farms -- once so contaminated that nearby drinking water turned yellow -- from the state's list of hazardous sites.
The water is safe to drink now, said Joye Redfield-Wilder, state Department of Ecology spokeswoman. "This is good news for the residents of that rural part of Grandview."
In 1998, officials determined yellow water from two domestic wells in the area was caused by contamination of Dinoseb, an herbicide that was banned from use in the United States in 1986.
Between 1998 and 2005, contractors removed 15,000 tons of contaminated soil from the former hops farm on King Tull Road and hauled it to a disposal facility in Arlington, Ore. The removed soil would have covered a football field to a depth well over five feet deep.
Property owners Dan and Harriet Alexander filed a lawsuit against the Ecology Department claiming they should not be required to pay for the cleanup because Dinoseb was legal when they used it. The state argued the chemical had been mishandled and improperly disposed of.
In 2004, the Alexanders settled, agreeing to pay $3.55 million in cleanup costs.
They had used Dinoseb on about 350 acres of hops from 1976 to 1985 to stop downy mildew, which can kill the crops.
Dinoseb, which was used on a variety of crops statewide before being banned, was linked to fertility problems and birth defects in rodents. No illnesses were reported by those who drank the contaminated water near the couple's farm.
The Alexanders retired from farming in 1992 and now live on Bainbridge Island.
Ecology Department officials have determined the site no longer poses a threat to human health or the environment.
Water from monitoring wells installed in the area have tested safely for two straight years.
The domestic well at which the problem was discovered in 1998 is no longer used, said Redfield-Wilder.
Before removing the property from the state's list of hazardous sites, officials will review public comments submitted between today and May 8.
Dan Alexander, reached Tuesday by phone, declined to discuss the site until after the public comment period.
Comments should be mailed to Tom Mackie, site manager, Washington Department of Ecology, Toxics Cleanup Program, 15 W. Yakima Ave., Ste. 200, Yakima, 93902-3452.
* E-mail comments to tmac461@ecy.wa.gov.
* Mackie can be reached at 509-249-6298.
* For more information, visit the department Web site at www.ecy.wa.gov.
"Ecology Department officials have determined the site no longer poses a threat to human health or the environment."
And now, no more rodents will experience birth defects and will be even more fertile.
Aren't we lucky? We have done our share for rodent-kind so all you Peta and eco-freaks will be very pleased.
The farmers will now have to use more rat poison to get rid of those pesky "prairie dogs" that multiply every 6 weeks by the thousands.
Thank you God-squad from DOE.
For those that may be confused: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_model
"A 2000 study found that animal models predicted human toxicity in 71% of cases."
Making groundwater safe for residents should be a priority, and I'm glad that the contamination is clear. It seems unjust, though, that Alexanders must pay for what was a legal pesticide back in the day.
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