Cleanup of Teck waste begins at Black Sand Beach: access closed during construction
By Contributor
Pending approval of a final permit, contractors will begin work between Sept. 13 and Sept. 20, 2010 to remove granulated slag at Black Sand Beach on the upper Columbia River. The work is being conducted to clean up polluted material on the beach from the Teck Metals Ltd. (formerly Teck Cominco) smelter in Trail.
The project will take about five weeks. For safety reasons, the beach will be closed to public access during construction. Scheduled work dates and safety notices will be posted, and flaggers will be present to direct traffic on the Northport-Waneta Road at certain times.
The industrial slag contains hazardous substances including zinc, lead, copper, arsenic, cadmium and other metals that remain as part of the normal smelting process. Some of the metals harm the health of the river and aquatic life.
Ecology and Teck signed an agreement in July 2009 to remove the slag from the popular beach area that is located along state trust land that is managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. It encompasses approximately one acre, three miles south of the Canadian border on the east side of the river north of Northport.
Teck agreed to remove approximately 5,000 cubic yards of granulated slag and transport it by truck for recycling at Teck’s Trail smelter facility. Teck has agreed to remove and recycle the slag to avoid continued erosion and movement of the material into the river.
“Black Sand Beach is actively used by the community,” said project manager Chuck Gruenenfelder with Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program. “This slag removal and beach replacement project will provide a cleaner beach, and prevent further erosion of slag into the river. We are pleased with Teck’s decision to conduct this cleanup under our supervision and with the company’s engineering, planning and coordination efforts to date.”
Construction was scheduled for fall because river levels are seasonally low, allowing workers to work in areas they wouldn’t be able to reach in the spring or summer when water levels are typically higher.
Teck’s contractor will replace the contaminated sediments with clean, natural fill material. The upper surface of the new beach will contain mainly sand-sized material. Some gravel-sized and cobble-sized material will be placed beneath the sand layer to build up the beach to approximate existing beach grades. Some cobbles will be placed in areas having a greater potential for erosion.
The extent of contamination and associated human health and environmental risks posed by past discharges from Teck’s Trail facility into the Upper Columbia River are currently being investigated under a separate, comprehensive multi-year study. This study is being led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Teck in coordination with state, tribal and federal authorities.
This article is a press release from the U.S. Department of Ecology.
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