Environmental Cleanup Site Information (ECSI) Database
Site Summary Report - Details for Site ID 84, GASCO   

This report shows data entered as of March 9, 2014 at 6:38:38 AM

This report contains site details, organized into the following sections: 1) Site Photos (appears only if the site has photos); 2) General Site Information; 3) Site Characteristics; 4) Substance Contamination Information; 5) Investigative, Remedial and Administrative Actions; and 6) Site Environmental Controls (i.e., institutional or engineering controls; appears only if DEQ has applied one or more such controls to the site).  A key to certain acronyms and terms used in the report appears at the bottom of the page.

Go to DEQ's Facility Profiler to see a site map as well is information on what other DEQ programs may be active at this site.

General Site Information
Site ID: 84	Site Name: GASCO		CERCLIS No: 027734359
Address:	7900 NW St. Helens Rd. Portland 97210
	County: Multnomah		Region: Northwest
Other location information:	Koppers is located at 7540 NW St. Helens RD
Investigation Status:	Listed on CRL or Inventory
	Brownfield Site: No	NPL Site: No	Orphan Site: No	Study Area: No
Property:	Twnshp/Range/Sect: 1N , 1W , 12		Tax Lots: 42,111,123,113,129,131,112,130
	Latitude: 45.5788 deg.	Longitude: -122.7583 deg.	Site Size: 35 acres
Other Site Names:	Koppers Co. - Portland   NW Natural Gas Company   Pacific Northern Oil Co.   Portland Harbor Sediment Study   Fuel and Marine Marketing   Pacific Terminal Services   NW Natural

Site Characteristics
General Site Description:
Site History:
Contamination Information:	(10/15/1999 ELB/VCP) Portland Gas and Coke Company (GASCO) apparently purchased the site in the 1880s, and built a gasification plant by 1913. All waste products from the gasification operations were discharged directly to the Willamette River until 1925. After 1925, tars were separated from the wastewater in settling ponds. When the plant was shut down in 1956 by GASCO's successor company, Northwest Natural Gas (NWNG), an estimated 30,000 cubic yards of coal tar had accumulated in the ponds. The ponds were buried under 10 feet of fill in 1973. Part of the site was then sold to Wacker Siltronic Corporation (see ECSI #183). Koppers Company leased an 8-acre portion of the site from NWNG in 1965 and built a coal-tar distillation plant. Waste streams of creosote and pitch were cooled and solidified in storage tanks, and apparently dumped into an on-site disposal pit. (The plant shut down in 1973 and has only been used for the bulk transfer of creosote oil and coal tar pitch since 1977). In December 1993, NWNG signed up for DEQ's Voluntary Cleanup Program. In August 1994, NWNG signed an agreement with DEQ to conduct a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) at the site. An RI/FS workplan was submitted to DEQ in January 1995 and approved in August 1995. Upland and near shore remedial investigation is ongoing.
Manner and Time of Release:	Wastewater from tar stills and unusable petroleum by-products were discharged to the Willamette River, farmed on a portion of site, or disposed of in settling ponds on-site. Lampblack and spent iron oxide waste stored in large on-site waste piles. Time of release: 1913 to 1977.
Hazardous Substances/Waste Types:	Oil gasification wastes including: tars, oil, creosote, phenols, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, BTEX and lead.
Pathways:
Environmental/Health Threats:	Contamination at the site may represent a threat to human health and the environment by migrating to the Willamette River. Evidence suggests near-shore Willamette River sediments are contaminated due to past operating practices.
Status of Investigative or Remedial Action:	(10/15/1999 ELB/VCP) During the first phase of the Remedial Investigation, widespread petroleum contamination was identified in site soils, groundwater, and Willamette River sediments. Tars were identified to depths of 70 feet in the vicinity of the former tar disposal area. In the former plant site area, dense non-aqueous-phase liquids (DNAPLs) were identified at three distinct locations. Monitoring wells installed adjacent to the Willamette River detected elevated levels of benzene and naphthalene. Sediment samples were found to contain high concentrations of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and tars. Phase I of the RI was completed in March 1996. Conceptual site models for human health and ecological risk assessments were submitted to DEQ in the fall of 1996. A Land and Water Use report and a series of technical memoranda were submitted during the summer of 1997. Phase II of the RI was completed during the fall of 1998. Groundwater contamination was detected up to 100 feet below the surface along the riverbank. A significant zone of tar contamination extending from the site to the river was also confirmed. (4/17/00 ELB/SRP) In March 2000, two cathodic protection wells that extended 400 feet into the basalt aquifer were abandoned. (9/15/00 ELB/SRP) In August 2000, a product recovery system was installed and soil sampling to support support the upland risk assessment was completed. (4/30/01 ELB/SRP) In March 2001, a source control evaluation was initiated to evaluate the potential for upland contaminants to migrate to the Willamette River at levels of concern. This evaluation is on going and includes additional near shore and bank area investigation in 2004. In 2003 NW Natural completed an evaluation of stabilization options for the river bank, an evaluation for a removal action in the upland tar pond area, and draft upland risk assessment. (12/14/12 DBayuk/VCP) Removal action consists of a well-based hydraulic control and containment system that is also being implemented as a groundwater source-control measure along ~2,200 feet of NW Natural's and Siltronic Corporation (ECSI #183) shorelines.
Data Sources:	Doane Lake Study Area file (ECSI #36), and NWR project manager files for this site.

Substance Contamination Information
Substance	Media Contaminated	Concentration Level	Date Recorded
BENZENE	Groundwater	16 ppm
BENZENE	Sediment	22 ppm
BENZENE	Soil	360 ppm
CYANIDE (AS ION)	Groundwater	11 ppm
CYANIDE (AS ION)	Soil	50.7 ppm
NAPHTHALENE	Groundwater	30 ppm
NAPHTHALENE	Sediment	5,100 ppm
NAPHTHALENE	Soil	11,000 ppm
POLYAROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAH)	Groundwater	0.36 ppm
POLYAROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAH)	Sediment	5,048 ppm
POLYAROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAH)	Soil	3,156 ppm

Investigative, Remedial and Administrative Actions
Action	Start Date	Compl. Date	Resp. Staff	Lead Pgm
REMOVAL  (Primary Action)	08/01/2012		Dana Bayuk	VCP
View Full Report Showing Action History

Key to Certain Acronyms and Terms in this Report:

• CERCLIS No.: The U.S. EPA's Hazardous Waste Site identification number, shown only if EPA has been involved at the site.
• Region: DEQ divides the state into three regions, Eastern, Northwest, and Western; the regional office shown is responsible for site investigation/cleanup.
• NPL Site: Is this site on EPA's National Priority List (i.e., a federal Superfund site)? (Y/N).
• Orphan Site: Has DEQ's Orphan Program been active at this site? (Y/N). The Orphan Program uses state funds to clean up high-priority sites where owners and operators responsible for the contamination are absent, or are unable or unwilling to use their own resources for cleanup.
• Study Area: Is this site a Study Area? (Y/N). Study Areas are groupings of individual ECSI sites that may be contributing to a larger, area-wide problem. ECSI assigns unique Site ID numbers to both individual sites and to Study Areas.
• Pathways: A description of human or environmental resources that site contamination could affect.
• Lead Pgm: This column refers to the Cleanup Program affiliation of the DEQ employee responsible for the action shown. SAS or SAP = Site Assessment; VCS or VCP = Voluntary Cleanup; ICP = Independent Cleanup; SRS or SRP = Site Response (enforcement cleanup); ORP = Orphan Program.

You may be able to obtain more information about this site by contacting Dana Bayuk at the Northwest regional office or via email at bayuk.dana@deq.state.or.us. If this does not work, you may contact Gil Wistar at (503) 229-5512, or via email at wistar.gil@deq.state.or.us or contact the Northwest regional office.

[print version]