Old Bremerton Gasworks is getting increased attention
December 1st, 2008 by cdunaganMy story about a toxic site called the Old Bremerton Gasworks has been picked up by several area newspapers and radio stations. The story talks about cancer-causing chemicals found on property between Pennsylvania and Thompson avenues in Bremerton.
What the story doesn’t say — although you can read between the lines — is that experts have nearly as many questions today as they did before the first study was complete. We know portions of the site are heavily contaminated. Now we must wait for the results from a new round of tests to understand a little better about the extent of pollution, including whether toxic chemicals are leaking into Port Washington Narrows.
Those results should be available in a few weeks. See the story in Saturday’s Kitsap Sun.
The site first came to my attention in the mid-1990s, when former Sun reporter Lloyd Pritchett and I were working on an investigation called “Toxic Kitsap.” See the map of Kitsap’s toxic sites (at that time) and a mention of the gasworks property in a related story.
More than two years ago, Bremerton city officials began looking at this site for redevelopment under the Environmental Protection Agency’s brownfields program. Since it is a waterfront site, a marina and public park were considered possibilities. See the story in the May 23, 2006, edition of the Kitsap Sun. The property still could be developed following cleanup, but the investigation and restoration is likely to enter a new phase.
I’m told by officials with the Washington Department of Ecology that the Old Bremerton Gasworks site, which lies on the waterfront, may get special attention because of the renewed effort to restore Puget Sound.
Like I say, many questions remain regarding where the pollution has been going. How much, if any, has been getting into Puget Sound is an important question. I guess we’ll just wait for the upcoming test results and see what happens next. New information will be reported as it becomes available.
Tags: brownfields, Environmental Protection Agency, Old Bremerton Gasworks, Washington Department of Ecology
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