The Josephine Mill No. 1 site is a historic cadmium, lead, silver and zinc mine located in northeast Washington, approximately 1.5 miles northwest of Metaline Falls in the southwest half of Section 16, Township 39N, Range 43W, Willamette Meridian, Pend Oreille County, Washington. The site is one of three properties associated with the Josephine Mine; the other two are located nearby on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property.
The Josephine Mill No. 1 reportedly began operations in 1907. The Josephine Mill No. 1 and Josephine No. 2 were the two mills that supported operations at the Josephine Mine. The Josephine Mill No. 1 reportedly began operations in about 1907. Operations at Josephine Mill No. 1 ceased about 1936 with the newly constructed Josephine Mill No. 2 located off site.
In July 2002, EPA and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), conducted a visual inspection of the Site and surrounding environment. The inspection included soil screening using a field-portable x-ray fluorescence (FPXRF) instrument at four potential source locations including a tailings pile and a waste rock pile. The screening concentrations of lead in soil (±1,000 parts per million [ppm], ±7,814 ppm, ±7,814 ppm, and ±19,289.60 ppm) exceeded the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) Method “A” soil cleanup level for lead for Unrestricted Land Uses of 250 milligram per kilogram (mg/kg).
In March 2003, EPA conducted a Preliminary Assessment using readily available information, and concluded that the Site is a potential source of hazardous substance releases and warrants further investigation under CERCLA or other statutes.
In May 2003, EPA and BLM, conducted a Removal Assessment to determine whether contamination is migrating to the surrounding environment and if the Site warrants a CERCLA removal action. The laboratory result for lead for one soil sample (593 mg/kg) and FPXRF screening concentrations for lead for two soil samples (±1,030 ppm and ±2,300 ppm) exceeded the MTCA Method A soil cleanup level for lead for Unrestricted Land Uses.
Response activities slated for this construction season are expected to take approximately two months to complete. The estimated 12,000 cu yds of contaminated mine wastes will be excavated and consolidated in a repository on site.
