Tacoma and Lead and Arsenic Issues (Seattle, Olympia: 2014, apartment, employment)

[Rain Monkey]

Sorry to bomb the list, however I have family seriously considering a move to the mainland. Based on employment locations, they are looking to move to north Tacoma...around the Pt. Defiance or Ruston (sp?) neighborhoods. I recent read about clean-up efforts underway to deal with an old copper smelter that operated in the area for around 90 +/- years. Apparently lead and arsenic outfall from the smelter process has contaminated soil in a number of neighborhoods. Can anyone provide greater detail or suggest sites to visit to better understand the problem and what is being undertaken to correct it?

Many thanks in advance for your support and help!

[gypsy88]

Hi Rain Monkey. I don't live in Tacoma, we are further south in west Olympia but I did a lot of research on the area when we moved to WA state. I have mixed feeling about it. I have friends that grew up and still live there. They are unfazed by it. In fact they laugh at me when I mention it like I'm some paranoid weirdo. None of them have cancer or CNS type disorders.

This will give you an idea of the affected area:
https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/smeltersearch/

This will give you all kind of details and more links to follow:
Tacoma Smelter Plume | Toxics Cleanup Program | Washington Department of Ecology

The plume of contamination goes pretty far so it's just not Tacoma. I know they discourage people from having vegetable gardens in the soil unless you use raised beds and add clean dirt to it. If you have kids that play in the dirt outside they say to bathe them often. Same with pets. I guess it depends on how careful you want to be or if you are prone to a lot of health issues.

Would I live there? Probably not. I struggle with a poor autoimmune system and don't feel lucky enough to roll the dice. If I HAD to, I would live in an apartment where I didn't have lawn work and could have central air so I wouldn't have to have my windows open.

Forget the smelter pollution... have you smelled Tacoma? On a good day it smells like my Grandma's sweaty feet. I'm sure the locals get used to that too. LOL

[jacqueg]

Whether your family buys or rents, they should ask to see soil test results. If the soil at the property has not been tested, they should make reasonable test results a condition of any deal they make. Not all areas were affected equally within the plume area, so you can't go by proximity.

I recently moved to Vashon, which is pretty close to the site. I am older, so I am not especially concerned, but if your family has small children, you might well want to be more cautious.

I think the Ruston/Port Defiance area is one of the more appealing areas in Tacoma, and haven't noticed any unpleasant odors. YMMV.

[secret_squirrel]

Be sure to look at the plume map in the link gypsy posted. Although the smelter was located in Tacoma, the soil contamination spread throughout the region. If you are looking in the broader region, you aren't necessarily avoiding the issue by avoiding Tacoma. In fact, some of the areas nearest to the smelter have had the contaminated soil removed and replaced. It's quite possibly less of an issue there than an unserviced area in, for example, Gig Harbor.

And the infamous smell is less noticeable now and when present, mostly hovers over the I-5 corridor near the port, not downtown or Ruston. I don't live in Tacoma, but we go out there often and I used to say I never smelled it in the city proper, only in Fife or on I-5. But I did catch a whiff of it once off Ruston Way a year ago, so I can't say that anymore.

[CrazyDonkey]

The main smell is now from the Simpson paper mill...

Simpson hands off its pulp mill with honor | Opinion | The News Tribune

Seattleites jocularly refer to Tacoma as "the Smell by the Bay." We used to have to roll up our windows and close the vents when driving past Tacoma on I-5. Not nearly so bad now.

Another term used is "the Aroma from Tacoma."