EPA begins cleanup work at JH Baxter facility in Eugene, Oregon
Seattle (August 5, 2024) -- Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it will begin cleanup, also known as a time-critical removal action, at the J.H. Baxter facility in West Eugene, Oregon.
The cleanup work will address the wood preserving chemicals abandoned when activities at the facility stopped in 2022. More than 500,000 gallons of hazardous chemicals and substances remain on the site. The removal of these chemicals will reduce or eliminate risks to people, nearby businesses and the environment.
In the first phase of the project work crews will remove the wood treatment chemicals and asbestos-contaminated materials from the 32-acre tank farm portion of the site. This part of the site has over 65 tanks holding varying quantities of different chemicals used in the wood treatment process. EPA Region 10’s Emergency Management Site Assessment and Removal Branch is managing the cleanup.
After the contents of the tanks are removed and taken off site for safe disposal, phase two of the removal effort will address the tanks themselves. The tanks and their containment structures will be deconstructed and safely disposed of to eliminate any additional contamination.
EPA expects the work to take up to 12 months to complete. The community may notice an increased level of truck and trailer traffic in the coming weeks along Roosevelt Blvd.
Throughout the cleanup, EPA will implement several best practices including:
- Robust air sampling and monitoring program to track and prevent community air quality impacts.
- Updating our website to keep the community informed on progress.
- Safely transporting materials by rail to reduce truck traffic and community impacts.
- Implementing 24/7 site security.
Background
In September 2022, at the request of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, EPA began conducting a series of sampling events. This included dioxin soil sampling in the Bethel neighborhood, assessments of the facility and an in-depth evaluation of the tanks and their contents.
The samples of large quantities of concentrated hazardous substances included pentachlorophenol, creosote, dioxins, arsenic, copper, zinc and other chemicals used in the wood treatment process. Additionally, several of the tanks, pipes and retorts on site are wrapped in asbestos containing insulation and materials. These substances could pose health risks to people who visit the site and the surrounding community.
To learn more about the cleanup, visit J.H. Baxter Wood Treating Facility Cleanup Investigation.