Our Actions

Remediation

Photo: Boeing

Cleanup work at the Chemical Commodities, Inc. Superfund site near Kansas City was completed a full year ahead of schedule. Over the next few years, Boeing will continue to monitor the site to verify the remedy is operating as planned.

As part of our annual $100 million commitment to cleaning up sites affected by past business practices, Boeing recently completed work at a U.S. EPA Superfund site a full year ahead of schedule.

Remediation work is largely performed at former manufacturing facilities and sites where Boeing, or companies we have acquired, shipped chemicals and other waste for treatment, storage or disposal. In many cases, waste-processing facilities that used treatment methods that were considered best practices in the past are being cleaned up to meet or exceed current environmental standards.

Working with national, state and local regulatory agencies, we strive for an open exchange of information with community members, government representatives and other stakeholders as we progress through these cleanups.

Chemical Commodities, Inc.

Over the last 15 years, Boeing has been working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the local community, and on behalf of a dozen other parties, to advance cleanup progress at the Chemical Commodities Inc. (CCI) Superfund site in Olathe, Kan.

This 1.5-acre (0.6-hectare) site near Kansas City was operated as a chemical brokerage and recycling facility. During its 38 years of operation, CCI bought chemicals from dozens of companies and government agencies. Rocketdyne, which was briefly part of Boeing, shipped wastes to the site for recycling for a short time during the 1960s.

Over time, contamination from chemicals shipped by multiple companies to CCI for treatment entered in the soil and groundwater, requiring a comprehensive remediation program.

An important milestone was achieved in the summer of 2011 with construction completed at the site and the final cleanup remedy put in place. By doing this, Boeing accomplished all of the cleanup requirements set forth by the EPA. Over the next few years, we will continue to monitor the site to verify the remedy is operating as planned. Studies are underway to use the new parkland to attract migratory butterflies, bees and other pollinators.

Duwamish

The shoreline along the Duwamish Waterway in Seattle, Wash., looks very different today than it did one year ago. In September 2011, Plant 2, a 35-acre (14-hectare) facility, was demolished to make way for a habitat restoration project. More than 85 percent of the World War II–era building materials, including steel and wood beams, copper wiring, concrete and other metals, were recycled or reused.

Additional cleanup work was completed at Slip 4, also along the Duwamish, which included building a state-of-the-art treatment system to clean storm water runoff to stringent levels protective of marine water quality.

Starting in the fall of 2012, Boeing will begin dredging the waterway to remove more than 200,000 cubic yards (152,911 cubic meters) of contaminated sediment and replace it with clean sand. A planned 5-acre (2-hectare) wetland and habitat project will provide an important ecological resource to improve Puget Sound fish runs.

Santa Susana

Boeing is making consistent progress in its efforts to clean up Santa Susana and preserve it as open space, connecting a critical wildlife corridor near Los Angeles. A former federal government rocket engine and nuclear energy testing site, Santa Susana cleanup efforts are directed by a number of federal, state and local regulatory agencies that oversee soil, surface water and groundwater cleanup programs.

Since acquiring a portion of the site in 1996 as part of the defense and space businesses of Rockwell International, Boeing’s team of geologists, engineers and experts in surface water, ground water and radiation have been working to clean up this 2,850-acre (1,153-hectare) site.

Progress in 2011 included demolishing and removing 16 structures and test facilities totaling 39,000 square feet (3,623 square meters). In addition, Boeing completed construction of two state-of-the-art storm water treatment systems that collect storm water runoff in tanks before treating it with chemicals and advanced filters. As remediation efforts continue, Boeing is planting native vegetation and working with several organizations — including the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society and the nonprofit Pollinator Partnership — to enhance the site for wildlife.

Related Links: Duwamish Waterway, Santa Susana