News Releases from Region 10

EPA: Lockheed West Seattle/Shipyard 2 cleanup will help Puget Sound

(Seattle, WA - April 28, 2015) Another environmental milestone has been reached at the former Lockheed West Seattle Shipyard/Shipyard 2 on Seattle's Elliott Bay. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued an order to the Lockheed Martin Corporation for the cleanup of their property on Seattle's Elliott Bay. Lockheed West Seattle/Shipyard 2, is the latest in a series of more than 50 federal, state and privately-led legacy contamination cleanups around Elliott Bay and the lower Duwamish waterway.

Lockheed Martin Corporation, the site owner, has been developing a cleanup plan since the site was listed on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 2007. The former shipyard is immediately adjacent the Duwamish West Waterway, the Port of Seattle's Terminal 5 and is due east of the now-finished Pacific Sound Resources Superfund cleanup site.

According to Lori Cohen, Deputy Director of EPA's Superfund cleanup office in Seattle, each cleanup on or near the shore of Puget Sound, means less pollution migrating to the Northwest's iconic waterbody.

"We've embarked on a multi-decade effort to protect and restore Puget Sound," said EPA's Cohen. "By working in partnership with the state, the city, the county and other public or private property owners, we are strategically cleaning up a long list of legacy industrial sites on Seattle's working waterfront, directly contributing to the protection and restoration of Puget Sound."

Pollution released into Elliott Bay is of particular concern, since the Muckleshoot and Suquamish Tribes use the area around the site for commercial, subsistence and ceremonial fishing. The bay is used for a variety of recreational purposes, including fishing, canoeing and kayaking. The area also provides habitat critical to Chinook salmon, which the federal government has listed as a threatened species.

The site is contaminated with heavy metals, PCBs, cPAHs and dioxins/furans. The Company expects to remove approximately 167,000 cubic yards of contaminated material over the course of the cleanup, reducing site risks to people's health and the environment. The multi-year cleanup is expected to begin in 2018.

Lockheed Shipbuilding and Puget Sound Bridge and Dredge Company conducted shipbuilding and repairs at the site from 1946 to 1987. Operations at those companies contaminated the site and surroundings with paint, metal scrapings and sandblast grit, which were all released directly into Elliott Bay. Specific contaminants include metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and petroleum products.

Learn more about EPA's Lockheed West/Shipyard 2 cleanup.