UPDATE: March 22, 2019

Late Wednesday, EPA and Ecology personnel completed their air quality monitoring of the site, and by yesterday evening, the fumigant material was repacked for disposal. NRC—the contractor hired by ECO Lab to manage the incident—will complete the disposal process over the next several weeks. Tenants at the Earley Business Center have returned to normal operations.

Original post: March 20, 2019

Yesterday evening and again overnight, several drums containing a fumigant material caught fire at the Port of Tacoma-owned Earley Business Center on a property leased and operated by ECO Lab (formerly Food Protection Services). Tacoma Fire personnel responded to the incidents. They extinguished the fires before declaring the air clear of plumes at 3:54 a.m.

This morning, Tacoma Fire returned to inspect the air quality at the site and declared it non-hazardous for nearby tenants to work. They handed the scene over to the EPA and Department of Ecology for ongoing monitoring.

An emergency response contractor hired by ECO Lab (NRC) is managing the incident. Per manufacturer recommendations, the fumigant material has been dispersed into several more drums and canisters and mixed with a soapy detergent. EPA and NRC are monitoring these efforts and measuring air quality.

The area is taped off and yard gates are closed. Tenants are advised to use caution in the area while monitoring is underway. Small plumes of smoke may be visible intermittently as the material settles over the next 12 to 36 hours. Currently, the ongoing incident does not pose any danger to neighboring tenants or the community.

Once the material has settled, NRC will dispose of it and clean the yard. NRC is responsible for preparing an incident report which will be submitted to the EPA, Department of Ecology and the Port.

Further updates will be posted to this page as more information becomes available.