Revised On: Jan. 3, 2023 - 7:30 a.m.

The East Washington Fluff WQARF site is located in Phoenix, Arizona. The site is bounded approximately by Buckeye Road to the north, 5th Street to the east, Pima Street to the south and 3rd Street to the west.

Site Status: Removed from Registry

On March 13, 2013, ADEQ announced the first completion of cleanup work on a state superfund site the East Washington Fluff site in central Phoenix. A Declaration of Environmental Use Restriction (DEUR) was placed on the property designed to control the release of contaminants that have been left on the site through the placement of institutional and engineering controls. The purpose of a DEUR is to ensure that current and future property owners are aware of contamination on a site and take appropriate actions to prevent unacceptable exposure to the contamination. Monitoring of the site is under the responsibility of the Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP).

Contaminants of Concern

The site is ten acres in size and contains significant quantities of auto shredder fluff co-mingled with native soils. The current contaminants of concern at the site include: lead, cadmium, arsenic and PCBs, a substance historically used as cooling oil in electric components. The contaminants of concern are present in the soil only. No contaminants of concern have been detected in the groundwater above the Aquifer Water Quality Standards. Contaminants of concern at the site may change as new data become available.

Public Health Impact

All surface piles of auto shredder fluff, including the main fluff pile, have been removed from the site. A protective soil cap was installed at the site to prevent exposure to any contamination in the soil. The ADHS has concluded that the soil cap will prevent future direct contact with the contaminants present in on-site soils and wastes at the site and that the cap is protective of human health.

Site Hydrogeology

The wells at the site are dry. The total depth of the deepest well is approximately 86 feet below ground surface (bgs). Four rounds of groundwater monitoring and sampling were completed prior to the wells going dry. The depth to water beneath the site ranged from 76 to 86 feet bgs during the period from July 2000 to April 2001. Groundwater during this period flowed in a west/northwest direction.

Community Involvement

A community advisory board (CAB) was formed for this site. They completed their review process and are no longer meeting. Past CAB meeting agendas and minutes can be viewed at the ADEQ Records Center | Learn How >