Urban Seattle Area Soil Dioxin and PAH Concentrations Initial Summary Report September 2011 Publication no. 11-09-049 Template Publication and Contact Information This report is available on the Department of Ecology’s website at www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/1109049.html For more information contact: Toxics Cleanup Program P.O. Box 47600 Olympia, WA 98504-7600 Phone: Program Receptionist at 360-407-7170 Washington State Department of Ecology - www.ecy.wa.gov o Headquarters, Olympia 360-407-6000 o Northwest Regional Office, Bellevue 425-649-7000 o Southwest Regional Office, Olympia 360-407-6300 o Central Regional Office, Yakima 509-575-2490 o Eastern Regional Office, Spokane 509-329-3400 If you need this document in a format for the visually impaired, call the Toxics Cleanup Program at 360-407-7170. Persons with hearing loss can call 711 for Washington Relay Service. Persons with a speech disability can call 877-833-6341. Urban Seattle Area Soil Dioxin and PAH Concentrations Initial Summary Report Prepared for Ecology by Hart Crowser Charles San Juan, LHG Toxics Cleanup Program – Ecology Project Manager Toxics Cleanup Program Washington State Department of Ecology Olympia, Washington Table of Contents Page List of Figures and Tables................................................................................................... ii Figures........................................................................................................................... ii Tables............................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements............................................................................................................ iii Abstract/Executive Summary ............................................................................................ iv 1.0 Introduction....................................................................................................................1 2.0 Surface Soil Sampling Locations...................................................................................3 South Park .............................................................................................................3 Georgetown ...........................................................................................................3 West Seattle...........................................................................................................3 Capitol Hill ............................................................................................................3 Ballard ...................................................................................................................4 Ravenna .................................................................................................................4 3.0 Field Sampling Methods................................................................................................7 3.1 Subsample locations and collection methods ..........................................................7 3.2 Sample exclusion criteria.........................................................................................8 3.3 Deviations from the 2011 SAP ................................................................................9 4.0 Soil Chemical Analysis Results...................................................................................11 4.1 Data quality review summary ................................................................................11 4.2 Physical/chemical parameters................................................................................12 Total organic carbon............................................................................................12 Total solids ..........................................................................................................12 Grain size.............................................................................................................12 4.3 Dioxins/furans........................................................................................................12 4.4 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)............................................................13 5.0 References....................................................................................................................15 Appendices...........................................................................................................................1 Appendix A. Field Documentation...............................................................................1 Appendix B. Representative Photographs ....................................................................1 Appendix C. Chemical Data Quality Review and Laboratory Reports........................1 Chemical data quality review for soil samples......................................................1 Sample receiving exceedances ..............................................................................2 Physical/chemical parameters ...............................................................................3 PAHs by EPA 8270-SIM.......................................................................................4 Dioxins/furans by EPA 1613B ..............................................................................7 i List of Figures and Tables Page Figures Figure 1 Seattle Study Areas Figure 2 South Park Study Areas Figure 3 Georgetown Study Areas Figure 4 Ballard Study Areas Figure 5 West Seattle Study Areas Figure 6 Capitol Hill Study Areas Figure 7 Ravenna Study Areas Tables Table 1 Median and Average Carcinogenic PAH and Dioxin Toxicity Equivalent Concentrations Table 2 Sample Names and Neighborhood Locations Table 3 Analytical Results for Surface Soil Samples from South Park Study Areas Table 4 Analytical Results for Surface Soil Samples from Georgetown Study Areas Table 5 Analytical Results for Surface Soil Samples from Ballard Study Areas Table 6 Analytical Results for Surface Soil Samples from West Seattle Study Areas Table 7 Analytical Results for Surface Soil Samples from Capitol Hill Study Areas Table 8 Analytical Results for Surface Soil Samples from Ravenna Study Areas Table 9 Summary of Carcinogenic PAH Toxicity Equivalent Concentrations Table 10 Summary of Dioxin Total Toxicity Equivalent Concentrations ii Acknowledgements The authors of this report would like to thank the following people for their contribution to this study: • Hart Crowser (Roger McGinnis, Colleen Rust, and Anne Conrad) • City of Seattle (Lynn Best and Beth Schmoyer) • Integral Consulting (Betsy Day and Dreas Nielsen) • Greg Glass Consulting • Ecology - Dave Bradley (Toxicologist), Ian Mooser (GIS Technical Support), Meg Bommarito and Seth Preston (Public Involvement); Bob Warren iii Abstract/Executive Summary This report documents the results of Ecology’s investigation of surface soils collected from six Seattle neighborhoods, South Park, Georgetown, West Seattle, Ballard, Capitol Hill, and Ravenna (Figure 1). This investigation is in support of the Washington State Department of Ecology’s (Ecology) Toxics Cleanup Program (TCP). The purpose of this investigation was to collect sufficient data from various Seattle neighborhoods to determine the range and magnitude of concentrations and toxic equivalents (TEQs) of dioxins and furans in urban areas. Soil samples were also analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) TEQ data for surface soil. Twenty shallow soil samples (0 to 3 inches deep) were collected from each neighborhood for a total of 120 samples. To ensure samples were distributed throughout each neighborhood, each neighborhood was divided into quadrants (ten subsections in South Park only) containing an approximately equal number of properties per quadrant. The number of properties per quadrant differed in each neighborhood because the neighborhoods differ in size. An equal number of samples were collected from randomly selected locations within each quadrant. Each sample was a composite of five individual samples collected from City of Seattle right-of-way (ROW) land in front of a single property. The cPAH TEQ concentrations ranged from 1.9 to 8,900 ug/kg with an average concentration of 260 ug/kg. The median and nonparametric 90th percentile concentrations were 84 and 390 ug/kg, respectively. Dioxin TEQ concentrations ranged from 1.7 to 110 ng/kg with an average concentration of 19 ng/kg. The median and nonparametric 90th percentile concentrations were 12 and 46 ng/kg, respectively. In general, the lowest cPAH and dioxin TEQ concentrations were in samples collected from West Seattle and the highest median concentrations for dioxin were in samples from the Georgetown area, while the highest median concentrations for cPAH TEQ were in samples from Ballard (See Table 1). The project schedule did not allow for detailed statistical evaluations. However, preliminary evaluations indicate that soil concentrations in Ravenna, South Park, Ballard and Capitol Hill were not significantly different. iv URBAN SEATTLE AREA SOIL DIOXIN AND PAH CONCENTRATIONS INITIAL SUMMARY REPORT 1.0 Introduction This report documents the results of our investigation of surface soils collected from six Seattle neighborhoods, South Park, Georgetown, West Seattle, Ballard, Capitol Hill, and Ravenna (Figure 1). This investigation is in support of the Washington State Department of Ecology’s (Ecology) Toxics Cleanup Program (TCP). The purpose of this investigation was to collect sufficient data