By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Toxics Cleanup Program
The breakout groups are wrapping up their presentations for possible cleanup work on Bainbridge Island’s Wyckoff site. The photo shows Group 1 leader Mike Basel (center, standing) listening to questions after his presentation.
Remember, this is the site of a former wood-processing facility right on the edge of Puget Sound. Roughly 1 million gallons of creosote-type materials are present in the soil and groundwater.
The ideas will be refined a bit more and featured during a community meeting from 7 to 9 tonight at IslandWood. (See previous blog posts for meeting details.)
Here’s a quick rundown on the groups’ ideas – more details will be available at tonight’s meeting.
GROUP 1
+ Treat the entire Wyckoff site using heat (combination of electrical heating and steam injection).
+ Install an estimated 750 thermal wells, 300 steam injection wells, 150 vapor extraction wells, and 40 multi-phase extraction wells.
+ Pros: Cleans up surface soils, eliminates the need to pump and treat water, controls leaching of contaminated water, flexible.
+ Cons: This method would take a lot of power – up to 8 megawatts if you wanted to clean up the site in 2 years. The power need would be less if you did the work over a longer time period. “Where’s the energy going to come from?” group leader Mike Basel asked rhetorically.
GROUP 2
+ Excavate 90+ percent of contaminated soils.
+ Treat the soils on site, and replace them after they’re considered “cleaned up.”
+ Install a new south barrier wall, and upgrade existing containment features.
+ Pros: Removes most contaminated soil. Costs could be lowered depending on how much soil is dug up and treated, and other factors.
+ Cons: Some contaminated liquids would leach out. The questions are what’s in the liquid and how do you address that?
GROUP 3
+ Use a combination of soil removal, heat treatment of soils, improve walls, capping at the site, and pumping and treating water.
+ Pros: Uses a variety of approaches.
+ Cons: Only about half of the contaminated soil would be treated.
Follow the discussions at twitter.com/wyckoffgen.
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