To create the Yard Program service area, we included areas where we predicted at least 10 percent of yards have arsenic over our threshold of 90 parts per million (ppm). We used past sampling data, distance from the former smelter, wind direction, and other factors to predict these areas.
The Yard Program service area includes areas in north Tacoma and the southern end of Vashon-Maury Island.
The service area also includes the area closest to the former smelter, where the EPA worked with ASARCO to address soil contamination in residential yards in the early 1990s to 2000. The EPA continues their involvement in addressing soil contamination through their Superfund cleanup program.