A Redmond site, formerly owned by the UCO Corporation and placed on the State Hazardous Sites List, has met state cleanup standards for soil protective of human health and the environment.
The Washington State Department of Ecology is proposing to remove the site from the list. The site — located at 9225 151st Ave. N.E. — now features a building that is occupied by RC Painting & Sons, Inc. for storage and office space. It is a 0.43-acre parcel situated in a mixed commercial and light industrial area.
“Ecology has determined that the property no longer poses a threat to human health or the environment and meets the requirements for removal from the department’s Hazardous Sites List. Before doing so, Ecology invites public comment until Nov. 23,” said Larry Altose, news media relations for Ecology. People can send their written comments to site manager Diane Escobedo at diane.escobedo@ecy.wa.gov or mail comments to 3190 160th Ave. S.E., Bellevue, WA 98008.
According to Altose, 16 tons of contaminated soil was removed in 2013 and 2015 under Ecology’s Voluntary Cleanup Program, and follow-up soil sampling shows that the site meets state cleanup standards. The soil contained petroleum and aluminum from improper disposal of aluminum machining waste.
UCO Corporation, a backpacking and mountaineering equipment company, operated at the property from 1977 to 2012 and is now named Industrial Revolution and located in Tukwila.
Industrial Revolution CEO Keith Jackson said he’s glad the site has been cleaned up and noted that UCO’s former owner Greg Draper made arrangements to clean up the site as part of selling the building after the organization’s 2012 departure from Redmond. The organization moved to Tukwila because they’d outgrown the facility.
Altose added that UCO hired an environmental consulting firm, and generally, a contractor with environmental cleanup expertise conducts the work under the firm’s supervision.
According to an Ecology press release, the site was ranked a five and placed on the Hazardous Sites List, which is a record of contaminated sites throughout the state that are ranked on a scale of one to five. One represents the greatest potential threat to human health and the environment relative to all sites ranked, and five represents the least potential threat.
Participants in the Voluntary Cleanup Program pay fees to Ecology to cover the department’s costs for guidance and review. Sites must meet the same cleanup standards as properties formally managed by Ecology under the state’s cleanup law, the Model Toxics Control Act, created by a 1989 voter initiative.
