The Pesticide Lab in Yakima, Washington is a 10-acre agricultural research facility run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It sits in Yakima County and has been an active research site throughout its history. EPA added it to the National Priorities List in 1983 after finding soil and potential groundwater contamination. The site was deleted from that list in 1993 once cleanup goals were met.
Contamination came from pesticide storage, formulation, and mixing operations that ran from 1965 to 1985. Wastes from those activities were discharged into a septic tank disposal system, and over time contaminants leached into the soil and potentially into groundwater. The main health concern was people ingesting or touching contaminated soil or groundwater.
Cleanup was handled under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), a federal law that governs hazardous waste management. In 1990, EPA approved a RCRA Closure Plan. That plan required removing septic tank contents, digging up and disposing of the tanks and washdown pads, collecting soil samples, installing groundwater monitoring wells, and running one year of groundwater sampling. The facility completed all of those steps. In 1992, EPA selected a "no further action" remedy for the one operable unit on the site, and a Record of Decision was finalized on September 30, 1992.
Today the site is fully cleaned up. Human exposure is under control, meaning no unacceptable pathways exist for people to contact the contamination. All cleanup goals have been met, required controls are in place, and long-term monitoring is not required. By September 2007, the site was also confirmed ready for its anticipated reuse. The Yakima Agricultural Research Laboratory currently operates there, with office and lab buildings, warehouses, greenhouses, and research crops including fruit trees.
Community members who want to follow redevelopment activity can check the EPA Superfund Redevelopment Program's national tracking resources for updates on this and other cleaned-up sites.
