Haines-Fairbanks Pipeline Corridor

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Database Name: The Haines-Fairbanks Pipeline Corridor site summary covers several sites along the corridor. The site listings are available at the end of the summary.
Status:
Location: Corridor between Fairbanks and Haines
Latitude:
Longitude:

DEC Contaminated Sites contact: Anne Marie Palmieri, Project Manager, 907-766-3184
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contact: Beth Astley, Project Manager, 907-753-5782
Alaska District - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website on their FUDS program.

Click on photos or maps for larger versions.

Contacts updated: 2/17/2023
Summary updated: 2/17/2023

Status Summary: Active

Map of the Haines-Fairbanks Pipeline Corridor: the dotted line represents the pipeline.

The Army Corps of Engineers is conducting investigations of old petroleum spills and contamination which took place during the operation of the pipeline. As of 2023, 20 sites have been identified, with cleanup completed at 11. Nine sites are in various stages of investigation and cleanup.

The investigation for the presence of dioxin contamination along the route of the former fuel pipeline has been completed, with no residual herbicides or herbicide-related dioxin detected in any of the samples. Other forms of dioxins were below State cleanup levels at all sampling locations.

Background/Description

The Haines-Fairbanks Pipeline was used by the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1973 to transport petroleum products from the deep-water port of Haines to Fort Greely, Eielson Air Force Base, and Fort Wainwright, in Interior Alaska. The eight-inch pipeline extended 626 miles (300 miles in Canada and 326 miles in Alaska) from the Haines Terminal to the Fairbanks Terminal at Fort Wainwright. The pipeline route followed the Haines Highway to Haines Junction, Yukon Territory (Canada), then along the Alaska Highway to Delta Junction and along the Richardson Highway to Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks.

Pumping stations, supporting terminal bulk storage tanks and related facilities in Alaska, were located in Haines, Lakeview, Tok, Sears Creek, Big Delta, Timber, Birch Lake, Eielson AFB, and Fort Wainwright. The pipeline right-of-way was generally 25 feet wide on each side of centerline. The pipeline was surface laid in some areas and buried in others. By 1974 the pipeline was no longer in use.

In early 2001, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) determined that portions of the Haines-Fairbanks Pipeline were eligible for investigation and possible cleanup of petroleum contamination by the Formally Used Defense Sites (FUDS) Program. The USACE scheduled the initial preliminary assessment of the right-of-way for 2005. This effort involved identification of locations of documented past spills, public meetings held along the pipeline route to discover information about any known or previously unknown past spills and areas of possible contamination, and identification of gate valves where fuel may have leaked.

Sampling was completed in October 2003 at selected portions of the right-of way for dioxin or other persistent chemicals possibly remaining from past herbicide use. Samples were taken by the Corps, with oversight by DEC. No residual herbicides or herbicide-related dioxin detected in any of the samples. Other forms of dioxins were below State cleanup levels at all sampling locations. (DEC photo, 9/03)

Public Health and Environmental Concerns

The contaminants of concern are the numerous petroleum constituents of gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel. Dioxin and residual pesticides are no longer considered contaminants of concern since they were not found to be present along the pipeline corridor.

Petroleum

Petroleum spills can cause groundwater contamination and the potentially impact to drinking water wells. The main contaminant of concern in petroleum is benzene, a known carcinogen which typically migrates further than other gasoline constituents.

Dioxin

This substance decomposes slowly in the environment and is a suspected carcinogen. Dioxin is a general term used to describe about 75 chemically related compounds. Some of these compounds have been shown to cause cancer in animals and other harmful effects in people. Health effects on people and animals depend on how much dioxin they are exposed to, how it gets into their bodies, and how long they are exposed. The following link to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry provides more information on the health effects from exposure to dioxins or chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins(CDDs). The investigation of the pipeline in 2003 strove to determine if the use of herbicides resulted in levels of dioxin greater than those expected from these sources.

Investigation/Remedial Work

Petroleum Investigation

In 2004, the USACE began to investigate the potential for the presence of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination along the pipeline. The USACE identified the most likely locations where petroleum contamination might be present, including: 1) valves, 2) locations of documented spills, 3) locations where contamination has been noted by local residents or other persons, and 4) scraper traps and pump stations. These locations have served as the basis for the Site Investigations conducted in order to determine if petroleum contamination is present along the pipeline.

The USACE’s initial preliminary assessment of the right-of-way took place in 2004-2005 and involved public meetings held along the pipeline route to discover any information about past spills. Local residents provided valuable information regarding spills and leaks during pipeline operations as well as areas where contaminated soil was encountered while doing earthwork activities along the pipeline. Based upon this information, the USACE began investigating all potential areas of contamination from the Haines Terminal to the Canadian Border in 2005. The USACE investigated the potential areas of contamination from Beaver Creek to Fairbanks in 2007. Many of these areas were found to be uncontaminated; however, contamination was found at 22 of them. Contamination was also found at many of the old pump stations. At that time, the USACE decided that the cleanup efforts for each spill area and pump station would be conducted separately from each other and no longer as a pipeline-wide project. Cleanup has been completed at 11 sites, and nine sites are in various stages of investigation and cleanup – links are given below to all nine active sites.

Dioxin Investigation

Late in 2002, DEC obtained the report "Without Prejudice: Summary of the Non-Native Activities in the Klukshu Reserve Area and Their Impact on Traditional Life," compiled by Champagne & Aishihik First Nations. This report contained copies of correspondence from the U.S. Army to Canadian officials stating that herbicides were used to defoliate the pipeline right-of-way in Alaska. One of those herbicides, Esteron Brush Killer, was a mixture of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T). A similar mixture was used as a defoliant in Vietnam and known as “Agent Orange.” 2,4,5,-T was found to contain dioxin, and its use has since been banned in the United States. See more information on dioxin below.

Upon learning about the herbicide use, DEC requested that the USACE take immediate steps to determine if there is a risk to the public from dioxin or other constituents associated with herbicide use along the pipeline right-of-way. The USACE initiated an archival record search for information on the types of herbicides used, where they would have been used, and how much was used. This record review, interviews with people with historical knowledge, and meetings with stakeholders helped shape a sampling plan to evaluate the level of risk to human health and the environment. Public meetings were held in Tok and Fairbanks in June, and in Haines in early September of 2003.

When the USACE’s record search turned up little information, DEC also conducted its own records search in an extensive effort to find any paper trail from the ordering, shipment, storage or use of Esteron Brush Killer or other dioxin-contaminated herbicide along the pipeline. This search also turned up very little.

Results of the joint investigation of dioxin indicated negligible levels of dioxin contamination in the soil. Residual herbicides and herbicide-related dioxins were either not detected or were below State cleanup levels at all sampling locations. Here are specific findings of the report:

The particular dioxin congener -- 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) --that is associated with contaminated 2,4,5-T herbicide products ( e.g. "Agent Orange") was not detected in any soil sample.
General concentrations of dioxins were below Alaska's cleanup goal at all sampling locations, and within background levels at all but seven of the 23 corridor sampling locations.
The distribution of dioxin congeners in all samples closely resembles the distribution expected of dioxins formed during general combustion processes (e.g. campfires), and not what would be expected from dioxin-containing 2,4,5-T.
No target herbicides (2,3-D; 2,4,5-T; Picloram; or Fenuron) were detected in any sample.

Dioxins, or Chlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins(CDDs)

Dioxins, or chlorinated dioxins, are a class of 75 chemically related compounds. They are composed of the same number of elements but their structural arrangement is different. Each one of these arrangements is called a "congener."

Dioxins are not intentionally manufactured except for research purposes. They may be formed during bleaching or disinfection processes which use chlorine, such as at pulp and paper mills and waste and drinking water treatment plants. They can occur as contaminants in the manufacture of certain organic chemicals. They are also formed during the burning of household trash, and even vehicle exhaust. The dioxin contamination in 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) component of Agent Orange was created when a certain temperature was reached during manufacture.

The dioxin congener found in herbicides is specific enough to be distinguished during testing from other forms of dioxin found in the environment.

To learn more, download our fact sheet on dioxin (PDF), specific to the Haines Fairbanks Pipeline.

See more information on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's web page on dioxins

The USACE report notes that the sampling results do not prove or disprove whether herbicides with dioxin were ever applied along the Alaskan portions of the pipeline, they simply show that no trace of application can currently be detected in the areas sampled.

The results of the pipeline sampling are supported by the findings of research summarized in the report, "Pesticide Residues in Food," issued in 1979 and sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations Panel of Experts on Pesticide Residues in Food and the Environment, and the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Group on Pesticide Residues. That research indicated that when 2,4,5-T contaminated with 2,3,7,8-TCDD (dioxin) was applied in prescribed amounts as an herbicide, the dioxin did not persist in the environment.

According to the USACE report (see below), "Unless additional specific information concerning the application of herbicides along the pipeline corridor comes to light, no further testing for herbicides or herbicide-generated dioxins is recommended; the data simply do not provide a foundation for a more focused investigation" (page 19 of the report). DEC also agreed with this conclusion.

Since no harmful levels of dioxin or herbicide residue contamination have been found along the right-of-way, dioxin is not considered a contaminant of concern for the pipeline.

Current Status

Nine sites with petroleum contamination are currently classified as active. Although the source of the contamination is from the same pipeline, each site is unique due to location, extent (size) of the area of contamination, and even with the specific contaminants of concern depending on the type of fuel that was in the pipeline at the time of the release. The USACE is managing each site as a separate cleanup project and, thus, the sites are at various stages of the cleanup process.

Each site is listed separately on the Contaminated Sites database, but has a common identifier at the beginning of the site name. To search for all sites related to the pipeline, search the Contaminated Sites database using the name “Haines-Fairbanks” (20). Abbreviations are MP = “milepost,” on the Alaska Highway from the Haines Terminal, GV = “gate valve".

Database Site Listings for the Haines-Fairbanks Pipeline:

Other Contaminated Sites associated with the operation of the pipeline:

More Information

Chemical Data Report, Herbicide Residue Survey, Haines-Fairbanks Pipeline Alaska (PDF 1.4M)
Appendix A: Maps of sampling locations (Due to large file size, maps are available for download as separate files):
Appendix B: Chemical Data Tables (PDF 740K)
Appendix C: Data Quality Review Report (PDF 1.4 M)
Appendix D: Site Photographs:
Appendix E: Copy of Field Notebook (PDF 922K)
Dioxin Fact Sheet (PDF), specific to the Haines Fairbanks Pipeline