PORT ANGELES — The City Council has delayed a decision about whether it will allow the state Department of Ecology to test for dioxin on city property.
Ecology representatives at Tuesday’s council meeting said the department will proceed with testing on private property, where owners have given permission.
Testing is to begin today and continue through Sept. 16.
Marian Abbett, Ecology’s environmental engineer, said that Ecology may not need to test the city’s property.
“We might get enough samples without the city’s approval, but in a couple weeks, we might still be lacking and need those samples, she said.
“But we would love to work with the city.”
The department plans to test 100 properties for dioxin in the soil.
The concern prompting the tests is that air emissions from the former Rayonier pulp mill at the end of Ennis Street might have dispersed dioxin around the city.
Dioxin, which is linked to cancer and other health problems, occurs naturally, but is also a byproduct of the wood treatment process that was used at the mill that operated on the Port Angeles waterfront from 1930 to 1997.
The cleanup of the 75-acre property began in 2000 under the supervision of Ecology, Rayonier Inc., and the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe.
All of the properties to be tested are between Tumwater Creek and Buchanan Drive.
