[tceblog] Neil Fischbein: Clean-up plan proposed: Moses Lake and former Larson Air Force Base (WA)

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Neil Fischbein:
Clean-up plan proposed: Moses Lake and former Larson Air Force Base  (WA)
http://www.tceblog.com/posts/1202965318.shtml


   A story in today's Columbia Basin Herald (WA) announced a
   Wednesday-night [1]meeting in Moses Lake, WA where EPA was scheduled
   to present their clean-up plan for a massive groundwater contamination
   site. Sorry we posted this news so late, but it gives us the
   opportunity to tell you more.
   The site is known as the Moses Lake Wellfield Contamination Superfund
   site. According to today's article, the TCE contamination has
   persisted (and, we assume, migrated) for about 50 or so years.
   In a [2]press release earlier this month, EPA previewed their plan:

     A comprehensive cleanup plan for the trichloroethylene
     (TCE)-contaminated groundwater at the Moses Lake Wellfield
     Contamination Superfund site has been issued for public review by
     the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The site is located
     just north of Moses Lake and includes the Grant County Airport, the
     former Larson Air Force Base, and areas south of the airport.
     âThis cleanup plan takes steps that will protect human health and
     the environment and restore groundwater quality,â said Lori Cohen,
     EPAâs Associate Director of the Office of Environmental Cleanup.
     The groundwater and soils at the site were contaminated with
     trichloroethylene (TCE) and other hazardous substances by
     operations of the former base and industrial activities associated
     with the aircraft industry. Approximately 1000 acres of groundwater
     are contaminated with TCE above health based standards and several
     contaminated soil waste areas are scattered throughout the site.
     The proposed cleanup is expected to cost about $31 million. TCE is
     an industrial solvent that was commonly used at this site for
     stripping paint from airplanes, washing airplane parts, and
     cleaning missile components.
     The proposed cleanup plan calls for:
     * pumping out the most highly contaminated water and treating it to
       remove TCE;
     * cleaning up the contaminated soil areas by removing soils
       contaminated above safe levels;
     * restoring the groundwater to its highest beneficial use as a
       drinking water source; and
     * requiring local land use restrictions such as changes to local
       ordinances, zoning, and property easements to protect the public
       from contaminated groundwater and soils until cleanup work is
       completed.

     In 1988, TCE contamination was found in three of the City of Moses
     Lake drinking water supply wells on the base. TCE contamination was
     also discovered in the Skyline Water System wells located south of
     the base. Since that time, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
     (Corps) have been investigating the contamination and cleanup
     options at Moses Lake. Between 1989 and 1993 the City fixed the
     three contaminated wells on the former base by deepening the wells.
     In 2003, the Corps constructed a replacement water supply well for
     the Skyline Water System. Continued testing has shown that the City
     and Skyline wells continue to provide reliable, clean drinking
     water to the community. The Corps and EPA continue to test a
     representative set of wells (up to 80) at the site. Based on this
     sampling, five homes have had whole-house filters installed at
     their wells to remove TCE from the water.
     The safe level for TCE in drinking water is set at 5 parts per
     billion (ppb). The contaminated groundwater at this site contains
     TCE concentrations above 5 ppb and some areas contain TCE as high
     as 80 ppb. The primary risks for people who drink water containing
     TCE in excess of 5 ppb over many years are the potential to
     experience liver problems and an increased risk of getting cancer.

   Though we haven't been able to dig through much of it, EPA has links
   on its website to a whole [3]treasure trove of documents related to
   the Moses Lake site, including the proposed clean-up plan [[4]PDF, 26
   pp., 148K] that was presented tonight. According to EPA's website, the
   following people are available to answer questions about the site:
   General Information
   [5]Suzanne Skadowski, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator
   206-553-6689 or toll-free at 1-800-424-4372
   Technical Information
   [6]Dennis Faulk, EPA Project Manager
   509-376-8631
   Technical Information
   [7]Marcia Knadle, EPA Hydrogeologist
   206-553-1641 or toll-free at 1-800-424-4372
   As always, we'll keep you posted as we learn more.

References

   1. http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/02/13/news/news03.txt
   2. http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/3bb4f096a7b3cfc5852573c900691bc9?OpenDocument
   3. http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/cleanup.nsf/sites/moses
   4. http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/CLEANUP.NSF/sites/Moses/$FILE/Moses-Lake-PP-08.pdf
   5. mailto:skadowski.suzanne at epa.gov
   6. mailto:faulk.dennis at epa.gov
   7. mailto:knadle.marcia at epa.gov