Dozens of contaminated yards will get cleanup help from state

TACOMA, Wash. — This summer, dozens of yards will get cleanup help from the state.

The new efforts comes after the Asarco copper smelter spewed pollution into the air for nearly 100 years, sending chemicals from Olympia to South Seattle.

The topsoil in the yards contains chemicals such as arsenic and lead.

An area of about 1,000 square miles is affected and much of it still needs work done.

Some of the lawn cleanup was done in a neighborhood last fall. So far, the Department of Ecology has replaced soil in about 150 yards, but about 1,000 lawns have been identified as needing soil replacement.

Some of that occurred last fall, as contractors were taking out 18 inches of soil and then replacing it.

"It makes you wonder, ‘What is in my yard? Is it going to affect us long-term? Is it going to cause cancer? Is it going to cause birth defects?’” resident Wendy Reynolds said.

Tuesday night, a public meeting for interested neighbors will happen from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Point Defiance Elementary School.

The Department of Ecology has a $94 million settlement from Asarco to help clean up yards, but health officials say the pollution was so widespread that it might never be totally cleaned up.

Cox Media Group