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Tacoma Smelter Plume Footprint [Washington (State)]

Hugo Froyland, Washington State Department of Ecology, Toxics Cleanup Program (TCP), GIS Specialist Full Details

Full Details

Title
Tacoma Smelter Plume Footprint [Washington (State)]
Description
This map shows the general pattern of arsenic contamination from Ruston (Tacoma Smelter Plume) By Census Block Group. With 90% certainty, at least 1 in 10 parcels will have soil arsenic at or above levels shown. Predictions are based on distance and direction from the former Asarco smelter, and on sampling data from forested and other soils undisturbed by development. Actual arsenic levels may vary greatly from parcel to parcel.Disclaimer:Actual arsenic levels may vary greatly from parcel to parcel. Property-specific sampling is necessary to determine the actual amount of arsenic on a given property. How to Sample your own soil - https://ecology.wa.gov/Spills-Cleanup/Contamination-cleanup/Dirt-Alert-program/Soil-samplingPattern and Description of the Tacoma Smelter Plume:There are three major factors to Arsenic deposition (the three D's) but many others exist. 'D'irection- wind rose direction,'D'istance, 'D'isturbanceArsenic tends to exceed state cleanup levels more often than other metals. Lead is the other main contaminant.Arsenic and lead are found mainly in the top six inches of soil.In areas where soil has been moved or turned over, contamination can be deeper.Undisturbed areas, such as forests, tend to have higher levels of contamination.In general, levels are related to distance and direction from the former smelter. Levels decrease with distance and are higher along the dominant north-northeast and south-southwest wind directions.Created a dataset for arsenic(0 to 6 inches sample depth) that had similar study characteristics in the field and lab. Various environmental studies were reviewed because of the size of the study area. Ecology reviewed data from over 130 studies and found 23 studies that had applicable data. Theses studies contained over 22,500 disturbed-residential samples and 1469 undisturbed samples for our analysis.
Creator
Hugo Froyland, Washington State Department of Ecology, Toxics Cleanup Program (TCP), GIS Specialist
Temporal Coverage
Last modified 2024-11-04
Date Issued
2023-04-13
Access Rights
Public
Format
File
Language
English
Date Added
August 28, 2025

Location

Links

Cite and Reference

  • Citation
    Hugo Froyland, Washington State Department of Ecology, Toxics Cleanup Program (TCP), GIS Specialist (2023). Tacoma Smelter Plume Footprint [Washington (State)]. . https://geo.wa.gov/maps/waecy::tacoma-smelter-plume-footprint-1 (web service)
  • BTAA Geoportal Link

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