Washington Ecology responds to questions regarding Lineage fire

FINLEY/BENTON COUNTY, Wash. --- The Washington State Ecology Department contacted Apple Valley News Now with updates about the Lineage fire and where things stand now.

Ecology officials said they cannot speak on behalf of Lineage or any private company Lineage has hired.

The department said they are helping collect air and water quality data at the request of the Benton-Franklin Health District (BFHD). They can only speak on their own role and the information they have gathered as a result.

They did provide Q&A and that information is below:

How can people get vegetables tested?

• Ecology contacted the state Department of Agriculture (WSDSA). WSDA only tests commercially farmed produce.

• While the state does not test non-commercially grown produce, a private lab may be able to.

What’s happening with water quality sampling?

• BFHD and DOH are working to collect and analyze drinking water samples.

• BFHD can share more information about water quality testing.

How is waste being disposed?

• Lineage said that waste is being sent to Columbia Ridge Landfill, a Waste Management landfill in Arlington, Oregon. Ecology confirmed that Columbia Ridge has the correct permits to accept that waste.

• Asbestos-contaminated waste was disposed of at Horn Rapids Landfill in Richland, which is qualified to accept asbestos.

• Scrap metal is being recycled, though we do not have additional details about where or how.

Can people get help covering healthcare costs or receiving insurance?

• If you are struggling to get insurance coverage, you may be eligible to sign up for Apple Health to receive free or low-cost health care. When will the fire be extinguished?

• Lineage announced the fire was fully extinguished June 20. It said cleanup efforts will continue for several weeks.

• Lineage or the fire district may have more information about methods used to extinguish the fire and why it was challenging to extinguish. Is the military involved?

• The military is not involved to our knowledge. Is there a detailed perimeter air monitoring program established? If so, do the stations account for directional wind change? Is a third party conducting this effort or the remediation company?

• With help from Ecology and DOH, BFHD and Benton County Fire District #1 set up over a dozen PurpleAir monitors around the facility. You can view the live data online: fire.airnow.gov

• PurpleAir sensors do account for wind change. You can see this in near-real time (1- to 2-hour delay) on the map. Example: if midday winds blow smoke northeast, then sensors located in the smoke’s pathway will record higher PM2.5 levels than sensors located far away from the plume, like southwest.

• Every day from May 24 to June 12, Ecology collected air quality data around the site using handheld monitors. o We looked for PM2.5, PM10, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and VOCs. We did not detect any ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, or VOCs. The handheld devices recorded hazardous PM2.5 levels at times, indicating that continuous PM2.5 monitoring was needed.

• The handheld devices sample on five-minute scales compared to the continuous monitoring used by PurpleAir and SensWA sensors. As a result, that data cannot be directly compared to PurpleAir and SensWA data. o We stopped daily handheld monitoring after June 12, once enough PurpleAir monitors had been set up.

• In May, we worked with Benton Clean Air Agency (BCAA) to set up a permanent SensWA PM2.5 sensor on the roof of the CTE building at Finley Middle School. Another sensor of the same type already existed in Burbank.

• The data from both sensors is publicly available on our air quality map. If people click on that dot and then click “site info,” they’ll be taken to this page with air quality info over the last week.

Has there been any data trends or changes in the air quality since the fire?

• No ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, or VOCs have been detected.

• Average PM2.5 levels are improving significantly. Since June 14, sensors closest to the fire and downwind have recorded improved air quality, often in the good to moderate range. The previous week, these sensors had often recorded air quality in the unhealthy to hazardous range.

• There have been some patterns in the air quality data, but the trends are complicated to interpret because the wind direction changes frequently. DOH is still analyzing the data.

How can get the chemical inventory from the facility, including SDS/MSDS sheets that were inside the building and approximate quantities that may be burning?

• This question is best answered by Lineage.

What equipment is being used to capture data, and what are they monitoring for to date?

• With help from Ecology and DOH, BFHD and Benton County Fire District #1 set up over a dozen PurpleAir monitors around the facility. You can view the live data online: fire.airnow.gov o These sensors detect PM2.5 levels. They are good at detecting PM2.5 from smoke, but not as good at detecting PM2.5 from dust.

• Every day from May 24 to June 12, Ecology collected air quality data around the site using handheld monitors.

What are the current level of pollutants, including particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), carbon monoxide (CO), and any other relevant toxins, such as volatile organic compounds, ammonia, arsenic, etc

• Current PM2.5 levels at nearby sensors in Burbank and Finley are shown on Ecology’s air map. The Finley monitor shows PM2.5 only, and the Burbank sensor shows both PM2.5 and PM10.

• Real-time PM2.5 data from PurpleAir monitors set up around the facility can be viewed online: fire.airnow.gov

• Every day from May 24 to June 12, Ecology collected air quality data around the site using handheld monitors. o We looked for PM2.5, PM10, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and VOCs. o We did not detect any ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, or VOCs. The handheld devices recorded hazardous PM2.5 levels at times, indicating that continuous PM2.5 monitoring was needed. The handheld devices sample on five-minute scales compared to the continuous monitoring by PurpleAir and SensWA sensors. As a result, that data cannot be directly compared to PurpleAir and SensWA data. We stopped daily handheld monitoring after June 12, once enough PurpleAir monitors had been set up.

Have there been any hazardous building material surveys done in support of building renovations or upgrades that would include sampling efforts and characterization done?

• Ecology does not have this information. Lineage may be able to say more.

• What we do know: Signal, the demolition company hired by Lineage, tested for asbestos. It found asbestos on one part of the roofing on the west side of the building. Signal reported that asbestos appeared to be in a roof patch and not in the roofing material itself. Signal treated that entire area of debris as asbestos contaminated. Debris was sent to Horn Rapids landfill. Ecology reviewed the site to determine if a cleanup under the state’s environmental cleanup law (Model Toxics Control Act) is needed. That review did not find anything that would trigger that cleanup at this time, but we will review again as new information becomes available.

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