2026 SoilSHOP Series - Burien

Puget Sound has a rich history of land and industry - but industrial practices from long ago may have had unseen lasting impacts on our soils and waters today.

For nearly a century, a Tacoma-based copper smelter, operated by the Asarco Company, spread lead, arsenic, and other heavy metals into the air. This is now known as the Tacoma Smelter Plume, or TSP. Over time, those compounds settled into the soils around Puget Sound, where they remain to this day.

In the spring & summer of 2026, KCD and the WA Dept of Ecology will be coming to local community gardens in parts of the region that may have been exposed to the TSP, and testing soils on-site free of charge.

If you live in a possibly affected area (check your address here: Dirt Alert) and wish to have your soils tested, or if you wish to learn more about the TSP and its effects, please join us at the first 2026 SoilSHOP series, happening at Shark Garden's Open House and Plant Sale. See their event info here: Spring Open House & Plant Sale — Shark Garden.

Unable to make it? The series will continue at the Federal Way Farmer's Market on May 16 and at Des Moines' Midway Covenant garden on June 20.

Questions? Contact [email protected] or 425-773-5060.

Sponsored by KCD with funding from WA Dept of Ecology.

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