WESTON in the News

July 2005

Washington’s Bremerton Sun Mentions WESTON’s Work on Port Gamble Laboratory Construction

In its July 22, 2005 issue, The Bremerton Sun (located in Kitsap County, Washington) featured an article describing and praising the hard work WESTON has been doing in the town of Port Gamble. WESTON has been assigned to build and operate a “flow-through” laboratory in Port Gamble to test toxic sediments and polluted water. The environmental purpose of the new laboratory is clearly important – to identify toxic chemicals in Washington’s waterways, find out which chemicals cause negative biological effects, and figure out how to eliminate water toxicity. Areas that WESTON plans to immediately address include aquatic and marine toxicology, environmental risk assessment, bioremediation, watershed science, technology development, sediment management, hazardous materials evaluation, and regulatory compliance. WESTON has also made it a priority to find new, innovative ways to treat sediments and soils.

“I think this is a wonderful step forward for Port Gamble,” said state Sen. Phil Rockefeller, D-Bainbridge Island. “Companies with these kinds of technical skills will be instrumental in attacking problems affecting Puget Sound as a whole.” The community of Port Gamble and its surrounding areas looks forward to the new laboratory because, when finished, it will have transformed an old and industrial site into a new and campus-like setting. Jon Rose, of Olympic Property Group, feels that, with the new laboratory, “…Port Gamble’s future could be built around marine research and recreation, tree and plant horticulture, and the arts.”

The 3,900-square foot laboratory will house 11 WESTON consultants in its start-up phase. WESTON employee Jack Word, who will oversee the new Port Gamble Environmental Laboratories, said he has wanted to set up a laboratory in the area for years and believes he has found the perfect spot in Port Gamble.

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