Tue, Sep 27, 2011
Major Milestone Makes Room For Wildlife Habitat
The last remaining steel steel structures that supported
Boeing's Plant 2 for more than 75 years Boeing have been taken
down, making room for site restoration, including development of
five acres of wildlife habitat. Most of the old empty buildings
formerly known as U.S. Air Force 17—but later called Plant 2
because it was Boeing's second assembly site—were demolished
this year in conjunction with Boeing's commitment to environmental
improvements that are vital to the Duwamish Waterway.
Now a new chapter begins:
- A half mile of shoreline will be restored to its natural
habitat.
- A resting area for migratory fish, such as salmon, will be
developed.
- More than 200,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment will be
excavated and replaced with clean material.
- More than 85 percent of the building will be recycled or
reused, including steel beams, copper wiring, wood, and
concrete.
- New stormwater treatment systems will operate at Plant 2 and
North Boeing Field to prevent recontamination of the waterway.
"We are committed to restoring habitat along the Duwamish and
conducting environmental work that is vital to the ecosystem,
nearby wetlands, the Puget Sound and to our community," said Mary
Armstrong, Boeing vice president of Environment, Health and Safety.
"This is the largest planned habitat restoration in the Duwamish
Waterway, and it will provide an important ecological resource to
improve Puget Sound fish runs."
The plant was important to the war effort in the 1940s, with
30,000 people building at times up to 300 aircraft a month,
including the B-17 and B-25 bombers. It was known as the birthplace
of America's airpower from World War II to the Cold War, and home
to Rosie the Riveter—women working then-nontraditional
factory jobs.
Boeing is working with local museums including the Museum of
Flight and the Museum of History and Industry to ensure its
important history will always be remembered.
In cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and
the Washington State Department of Ecology, Boeing is already
working on cleaning up the site. For example, more than 8 miles
worth of concrete joint compounds manufactured with PCBs have been
removed, and old stormwater drainage pipes have been cleaned.
Dredging and soil remediation at Plant 2 is currently expected to
begin in 2012, followed by the shoreline and habitat
restoration.
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