Asarco Dock Aerial 02

Asarco shipped copper ore from Alaska and other locations to the Tacoma smelter. The copper ore was heated in  the smelter until it melted and the liquid copper could be  separated from the other minerals. The leftover molten  material cooled to form a brittle solid slag that included  harmful metals such as arsenic and lead. The rocky slag was  dumped along the Commencement Bay shoreline, covering sandy beaches to depths of 30 feet, and into deeper waters to  create a 23-acre breakwater peninsula. Asarco estimates that  15 million tons of slag are on the site.

(08.28.00, Tacoma, Washington)

• Creating New Habitat As Part of Hazardous Waste Cleanup at Asarco Asarco operated one of the largest North American smelters from 1890 to 1985 in Tacoma, Washington, leaving a legacy of toxic slag along the shoreline. OR&R scientists worked with EPA and Asarco to incorporate habitat into the shoreline cleanup.