Jackson Park Housing Complex

Jackson Park Housing Complex is a Navy family housing installation located on roughly 200 acres east of Highway 3, about two miles northwest of Bremerton in Kitsap County, Washington. From 1904 to 1959 the property operated as a naval ammunition depot, where ordnance was manufactured, processed, loaded, and disassembled, and the grounds also held incinerators, a boiler plant, and paint, battery, and machine shops. After ammunition operations ended, much of the site was redeveloped for military housing and now supports thousands of residents associated with the area's Navy presence. Decades of ordnance handling and industrial activity left residues in soil, sludge, and the sediments of adjacent Ostrich Bay. A related Navy site near Manchester, the Old Navy Dump and Manchester Laboratory, where demolition debris and industrial wastes were placed in a former tidal lagoon, was listed on the federal cleanup program the same day.

Because of this long industrial history, environmental agencies have documented several contaminants of concern at and around the complex, and there have been concerns about potential exposure for people living and working nearby. The following substances have been associated with the site.

1. Heavy metals. Metals such as lead and others were used in and generated by ordnance handling, battery and machine shop operations, and waste disposal at the depot. Site investigations have associated heavy metals with contaminated surface water, soil, and sludge, and some metals can accumulate in shellfish. Long term exposure to certain metals has been associated with a range of health concerns, which is part of why monitoring continues.
2. Explosives residues (RDX and related compounds). Manufacturing and disassembly of munitions left explosive residues in the environment, and residual powders were historically disposed of by open burning. Compounds including RDX and ammonium picrate have been linked to the site, the latter contributing to discoloration of Ostrich Bay. Explosives residues in soil and water have raised concerns about potential exposure, and they remain a focus of sampling and cleanup.
3. Polychlorinated biphenyls. PCBs are persistent industrial chemicals once common in electrical equipment and other materials, and they have been documented in sediment and waste associated with the area's naval operations, including low level detections along the Ostrich Bay shoreline. PCBs can persist in sediment and accumulate in marine tissue, which is one reason shellfish sampling and harvest advisories have been put in place. Exposure to PCBs has been associated with various health concerns in scientific literature.
4. Solvents and other volatile organic compounds. Industrial operations and waste disposal also introduced solvents and petroleum related compounds, and benzene has been detected in seep water discharging to Ostrich Bay at levels that have exceeded cleanup goals. Such volatile organic compounds in groundwater and seeps have prompted concerns about potential exposure and ongoing treatment efforts at the Benzene Release Area.

Jackson Park Housing Complex was added to the Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List, the federal Superfund program, in 1994. Cleanup under CERCLA has included a soil and vegetation cover over contaminated soil, shoreline stabilization, removal of wooden pilings from abandoned structures, excavation and off site disposal of contaminated soil, institutional controls, and a shellfish sampling program with shoreline signage about harvest restrictions. Remedy construction began in 2000, and investigation, pilot testing, and monitoring remain ongoing, particularly for benzene in seep water.

Veterans and family members who lived or worked at Jackson Park Housing Complex may wish to stay informed as cleanup and monitoring continue. Anyone with questions about possible exposure and related benefits or health care is encouraged to consult the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and a personal health care provider for guidance specific to their circumstances.