Published February 2001

KEECO gains attention
for cleanup technology

By John Wolcott
Herald Business Journal Editor

In a world that desperately needs more clean water, Jimmie Andrews knows how to get clean water from contaminated storm water.

In a world that desperately needs to reclaim land soaked in toxic elements, Jimmie Andrews knows how to get clean dirt from poisoned dirt.

In a world that desperately needs to protect itself from stored radioactive wastes, Jimmie Andrews knows how to get neutralized water and soil from materials radiating deadly rays.

Sometimes his technology is too unbelievable for his own good. People are not ready to accept what is science to him and almost magic to others, he said. Now, with years of research and development behind him, Andrews is well into proving the practical applications of his methods, methods he believes could eventually dominate global markets for environmental cleansing solutions.

His Lynnwood company, KEECO — the Klean Earth Environmental Co. — has developed a proprietary Silica Micro Encapsulation (SME) technology that chemically surrounds and neutralizes toxic matter, rendering it harmless — permanently.

KEECO also has developed specialized dry-chemical injection systems for applying SME products to treat water. Together, KEECO’s technology and processes are making it the newest international success story to come out of Washington state.

Incorporated in 1992, KEECO devoted nearly five years to research and development of the SME technology, then spent the past few years proving the technology in pilot projects. Now, with its headquarters in Lynnwood, an analytical laboratory in Montana and subsidiaries in Canada and England, KEECO is moving into larger government and commercial projects that will bring the company much more attention, worldwide, Andrews believes.

To better explain what’s happening with KEECO’s revolutionary processes, Executive Vice President Jim Roma talked about these examples:

• SME technology recently was used to treat mercury-contaminated soil at a Superfund site in Oregon and lead contamination at a Department of Transportation Brownfield site in Delaware with exceptional results. In both cases, KEECO’s technology solved the problem without digging and removing thousands of tons of soil for disposal to a hazardous-waste site. After treating 2,500 tons of soil in Delaware in less than a week, no detectable lead was found in the treated soil.
• Aero Construction in Snohomish will work with KEECO to build, install and operate storm-water treatment systems at Washington state construction sites. KEECO officials say their process could avoid situations such as winter bans on construction because of wastewater runoff problems. In a recent storm-water treatment test for state officials at a Redmond construction site, KEECO basically turned the runoff into drinking water, with testing meters measuring zero NTU, which is well below the drinking-water clarity level of 4 NTU.
• The Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies have accepted the SME technology as an effective, permanent method of treating toxic heavy metals and other contaminants.
• Sen. Patty Murray and Congressmen Jay Inslee and Norm Dicks have written letters on KEECO’s behalf, urging federal approval to use SME technology at sites such as the Hanford nuclear reservation to save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in cleaning up radioactive wastes.
• The company also has signed a $15 million LOI licensing agreement with China, another agreement with the Philippines and has established more than 300 company contacts in Japan and Asia, reflecting the serious interest from that part of the world in KEECO’s SME technology.

“KEECO is not only becoming a very successful company, it is providing an important contribution to our world,” Roma said.

As KEECO moves into its commercial stage, the client list is gaining stature, including such customers as Alliant Techsystems, Battle Mountain Gold Co., Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, Hecla Mining Co., Kennecott Mining Co., New Bunker Hill Mining Co., Textile Rubber & Chemical Co., Kawasaki, the EPA and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

At the company’s annual meeting in October, Andrews announced sales were up 410 percent over 1999 sales, year-to-year, and expected to be up 725 percent at year end, over total 1999 sales, reaching $1.2 million at the end of 2000. He expects sales for 2001 to be up 1,600 percent over calendar year 2000.

Further information about KEECO can be found on the company’s Web site, www.keeco.com, by calling Roma at 425-778-7165 or by e-mail to jroma@nwlink.com.

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