NEWS RELEASE
2005-08 MASSACHUSETTS MILITARY RESERVATION, Cape Cod, Mass. —
Officials of the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence (AFCEE) will hold a 30-day
public comment period on the Draft Chemical
Spill 19 (CS-19) Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis (EE/CA) document. The
work described in this document solely addresses cleanup actions related to soil
contamination. Please note that actual
cleanup work has been initiated at the site, but a public comment period is required to
provide the public with an opportunity to comment on cleanup actions. An EE/CA
is a document that is similar to a feasibility study, however EE/CAs are issued for sites
following an expedited removal action process. The goals of an EE/CA are to: [1]
identify removal action (cleanup) objectives and alternatives, [2] evaluate the
effectiveness, implementability and cost of each alternative and [3] recommend the
alternative that best satisfies the cleanup objectives. The 30-day public comment
period will begin on May 5, 2005 and end on June 3, 2005. The primary
contaminant in the soil at the CS-19 site is hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine,
otherwise known as Royal Dutch Explosive (RDX). The recommended alternative
presented in the CS-19 EE/CA for addressing RDX in soil is to excavate the contaminated
soil and treat it on-base using a low temperature thermal desorption unit, which
permanently destroys the RDX contamination, and/or dispose of it at a licensed disposal
facility off base. Treated soil and/or clean fill will be used to backfill the
excavated areas. This cleanup action is being performed to prevent or reduce
leaching of RDX from site soils, munitions items, and explosives of concern, which may
contribute to unacceptable risks to off-site residents if exposed to groundwater from
beneath the site. The work is designed to be protective of human health. Copies of the Draft CS-19 EE/CA will be available for review during the public comment period at the main libraries in Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee and Sandwich, at the Installation Restoration Program (IRP) Office, and on the MMR/IRP website: www.mmr.org/pubcommentperiod.htm. Interested parties can submit comments in several ways. By mail to:
HQ
AFCEE/MMR
Attn.:
CS-19 EE/CA
322
East Inner Road
Otis
ANG Base, MA 02542-5028 By fax to: (508) 968-4673By electronic mail to:
doug.karson@brooks.af.mil By internet
to:
http://www.mmr.org The results of the evaluation and recommendations made in the CS-19 EE/CA will be presented at the Plume Cleanup Team meeting on May 11, 2005. Plume Cleanup Team Meeting May 11, 2005 6:00 p.m. Cataumet United Methodist Church 1093 County Road, Cataumet For more information, please contact Mr. Douglas Karson, AFCEE/MMR Community Involvement Specialist, at (508) 968-4678, extension 2; Fax (508) 968-4673; or E-mail doug.karson@brooks.af.mil. To learn more about the cleanup program visit our website at www.mmr.org Background: The Impact
Area is located in the central region of the MMR. The CS-19 site is located in the
west-central region of the Impact Area. The CS-19 site consists of a barren knoll
measuring approximately one acre in size, defined by a perimeter road with an approximate
125-foot radius. The larger Impact Area was used for military training, which
involved artillery firing from gun and mortar locations. CS-19 is a former ordnance
disposal site. Numerous investigations have
been conducted in the CS-19 site area to determine the source, nature and extent of soil
and groundwater contamination. A preliminary assessment performed in 1991 was based
on aerial photographs and personal interviews. Findings from this initial assessment
suggest that the CS-19 site was historically used as an ordnance and military waste
disposal site where liquid wastes from unknown sources were reportedly disposed of, in
addition to unexploded ordnance and rocket bodies. A 1992 site assessment, which
uncovered large amounts of buried ordnance debris, concluded that soil was contaminated
with chemicals consistent with ordnance disposal. Additional investigations were
conducted during the 1990’s, which assessed the potential for both soil and
groundwater contamination. An investigation conducted in 1996 concluded that soils
at the CS-19 site are contributing RDX to groundwater. AFCEE conducted several Remedial
Investigations (RIs) at the CS-19 site between 2000 and 2003. The purpose of a RI is
to gather and analyze the data necessary to determine the nature and extent of
contamination at a site and to evaluate the risks to human health and the environment.
An RI also provides information for identifying and evaluating options for cleaning
up the site. During the RIs, surface and sub-surface soil sampling indicated that
concentrations of explosives decrease rapidly with depth. An RDX groundwater plume
originating from the CS-19 site was identified and mapped. Computer modeling indicated that
the leaching of explosives related to the ordnance material at the site had been a
continuing source of the RDX groundwater plume. The findings of the RI recommend
preparation of an EE/CA and Action Memorandum to document a non–time critical removal
action of the soil for cleanup at the CS-19 site in order to remove the source of the RDX
groundwater plume. Following the RI and in
preparation of developing the non-time critical removal action, a geophysical survey was
conducted in November 2003 to identify where metallic objects may be encountered during
soil excavation. The results indicated that metal objects are distributed over much
of the site. Additional surveys were conducted in November 2004 after many of the
metallic items had been either removed or blown in place. Approximately 2,000 cubic
yards of soil has been removed from the CS-19. The excavated soil has been either
treated on-base at the low temperature thermal desorption treatment facility or stockpiled
on-site for later testing and likely disposal at a licensed disposal facility off base.
Groundwater sampling of
monitoring wells near the area has been performed as part of the CS-19 RI work and as part
of continued groundwater monitoring of the site. Groundwater contamination at the
CS-19 site was addressed through a Proposed Plan for Interim Action (PPIA) process and was
released for public comment earlier this year. The proposed work described in the
PPIA solely addressed an interim cleanup remedy of monitoring groundwater contamination.
Concurrently, a feasibility study will be conducted by the Impact Area Groundwater
Study Program on the additional groundwater contamination in the Central Impact Area where
CS-19 is located. Final remedies for groundwater contamination in this area will be
presented for public comment at a later date by the Army Environmental Center and AFCEE.
|
