At a press conference happening now(ish), Mayor Mike McGinn is supposed to be announcing the results of an environmental study of hazardous materials found at the Sunny Jim Peanut Factory site, which was chosen last year as the future home for a city-sponsored homeless encampment.
But for some reason, I'm having trouble streaming the Seattle Channel live feed for this event. Luckily, I have the report in front of me. Read along if you want (.pdf)!
In short, the environmental consulting firm Floyd|Snider found that the Sunny Jim site presented "no major concerns" as a future site for a homeless encampment.
The report notes that some on-site contamination was detected, but this contamination "can easily be addressed with typical construction methods."
Late last year, Floyd|Snider was hired by the city to study the Sunny Jim site for hazardous contamination after speculation spread that the industrial area might be unsafe for campers.
Specifically, the firm found levels of PCBs, asbestos, lead, petroleum, and arsenic in the soil and building materials that need to be cleaned up before the site is used. From the report:
Based on the analytical results from the various manufactured materials and soils sampled as part of this investigation, four of the manufactured materials and two of the soil areas should be addressed prior to use of the Plot as the Seattle Homeless Encampment. These manufactured materials and soils are listed below along with the constituents of concern associated with each of these materials or soil areas.
The red cement flooring surfaceâpH
The grey cement flooring surfaceâPCBs, asbestos, and pH
The caulk in between the concrete slabs in the northern and southern fenced areasâlead, and PCBs
The crumbling concrete surface within the southern fenced areaâarsenic and lead
Soils around the metal foundations and cracks within the northern fenced areaâlead and motor oil-range TPH
The soil sidewalk âlandscaping stripâ along Adams Streetâlead, and motor-oil range TPH
The report then lists recommendations for either removing the materials and soils from the site, fencing off contaminated areas, or covering the contaminated areas with another material to "prevent direct human contact with the materials."
No word yet on what cleanup of the Sunny Jim site is likely to cost the city, or when it will be ready for the 100 or so homeless people slated to move in (on?).
