EPA RCRA ID: WAD009282302
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Facility Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Status
The Container Properties (former Rhone-Poulenc) facility is located along the Lower Duwamish Waterway in Tukwila, Washington. Cleanup is being done under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) according to an administrative order on consent. Part of the property overlaps with the adjacent Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site and will be cleaned up under a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) remedial action expected to start in 2024.
Interim cleanup actions at the facility have included several excavations to remove soil contaminated with petroleum, toluene, and metals. Toluene also was removed from soil and groundwater using soil vapor extraction and air sparging, techniques that pull contaminated vapors out of the ground or move air through the groundwater to remove contaminants. A low-permeability barrier wall installed beneath the ground surface prevents flow of contaminated groundwater from the property to the river.
A Corrective Measures Study (CMS) starting in 2025 will help EPA decide how to clean up the remaining contamination. A Pre-CMS Conditions Report shows where soil and groundwater contamination is known to be located. A soil investigation to locate contamination along the shoreline will be completed at the end of 2024. Groundwater is sampled twice per year.
Cleanup actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. It is not intended as an extensive list of milestones/activities. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table and the Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility table that follows, a blank in the Status column could mean the action either has not occurred or has not been reported in RCRAInfo.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to the Entire Facility
| Action | Status | Date of Action |
|---|---|---|
| Human Exposure Under Control Human Exposure Under Control(CA725) | ||
| Groundwater Migration Under ControlGroundwater Migration Under Control (CA750) | ||
| Remedy DecisionRemedy Decision (CA400) | ||
| Remedy ConstructionRemedy Construction (CA550) | ||
| Ready for Anticipated Use Ready for Anticipated Use (CA800) | ||
| Performance Standards AttainedPerformance Standards Attained (CA900) | ||
| Corrective Action Process TerminatedCorrective Action Process Terminated (CA999) |
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility
| Action | Area Name | Date of Action |
|---|
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
The West Parcel of the property is 14.4 acres and consists of an upland area, a shoreline, and tideflats that extend into the Lower Duwamish Waterway. The West Parcel was redeveloped in 2006 and most of the upland area now is paved and fenced. The property was then leased first to an auction company for temporary storage of wrecked vehicles and currently to a shipping transport company.
The East Parcel (6.6 acres) has been cleaned up and now is owned by the Museum of Flight Foundation and houses Raisbeck Aviation High School.
Industrial operations on the original property date back to the 1930s when a company called I.F. Laucks built a pilot plant to formulate glue for use in plywood manufacturing. In 1949, Monsanto Chemical Company (Monsanto) purchased the property and continued to manufacture glue, as well as paints and resins, and store wood preservatives. Monsanto started vanillin (artificial vanilla) production on the property in 1952 and stopped manufacturing the other products around 1970. Vanillin production continued at the facility after Monsanto sold the property to Rhone-Poulenc, Inc. in 1985. Rhone-Poulenc stopped chemical operations in 1991, and sold the property to Rhodia, Inc. in 1998. Later that year Rhodia sold the property to Container Properties LLC, the current owner.
Contaminants at this Facility
The primary contaminants in groundwater and soil in parts of the upland and shoreline areas of this facility include toluene, metals (primarily copper), and caustic (high pH). Other contaminants such as petroleum hydrocarbons and semi-volatile organic compounds also have been found.
Soil along the shoreline area contains polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Contaminants in the sediments in the tideflats area include PCBs, dioxins/furans, mercury, and phenol.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Corrective action is complete for the East Parcel and no controls are required.
The West Parcel is still being investigated and remediated. The need for any institutional or engineering controls in the West Parcel will be determined later in the process.
Institutional and Engineering Controls help ensure human exposure and groundwater migration are under control at a cleanup facility. Where control types have been reported by states and EPA in EPA’s RCRAInfo, they are shown below. Not all control types are needed at all facilities, and some facilities do not require any controls. Where there are blanks, the control types may not be needed, may not be in place, or may not be reported in RCRAInfo.
Are Controls in Place at this Facility?
|
Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
Documents available on-line: |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Institutional ControlsNon-engineering controls used to restrict land use or land access in order to protect people and the environment from exposure to hazardous substances remaining in the site/or facility. (CA 772) |
Informational DevicesInformational Devices (ID) |
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Governmental Controls (GC) |
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Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
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| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | ||||
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Engineering ControlsEngineering measures designed to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination by either limiting direct contact with contaminated areas or controlling migration of contaminants. (CA 770) |
Groundwater ControlGroundwater Control (GW) |
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Non-Groundwater |
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For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Enforcement and Compliance at this Facility
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) provides detailed historical information about enforcement and compliance activities at each RCRA Corrective Action Site in their Enforcement and Compliance Historical Online (ECHO) system.
RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Reports from ECHO
Related Information
For more information about this facility, visit:
- RCRA information in EPA’s Envirofacts database
- Information about this facility submitted to EPA under different environmental programs (EPA’s Facility Registry Services)
- Alternative Names for this facility (EPA’s Facility Registry Services)
- Cleanups in My Community (interactive map to see EPA cleanups in context with additional data and lists for downloading data)
- Search RCRA Corrective Action Sites
Site Documents
Contacts for this Facility
Janette Knittel (knittel.janette@epa.gov), Project Manager, 206-553-0483.