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Site Report: Project Chariot

Site Name: Project Chariot
Address: 6 Mi. SE of Cape Thompson, Chariot, Point Hope, AK 99766
File Number: 475.38.008
Hazard ID: 1649
Status: Cleanup Complete - Institutional Controls
Staff: IC Unit, 9074655229 dec.icunit@alaska.gov
Latitude: 68.103611
Longitude: -165.736111
Horizontal Datum:

We make every effort to ensure the data presented here is accurate based on the best available information currently on file with DEC. It is therefore subject to change as new information becomes available. We recommend contacting the assigned project staff prior to making decisions based on this information.

Problems/Comments

In 1958, the AEC authorized planning and studies for Project Chariot, an experimental harbor excavation using nuclear explosives. This project was developed as part of the Plowshare Program created in 1957. This was a program to investigate and develop peaceful uses of atomic energy. The AEC made a withdrawal of public lands to use the Cape Thompson location between 1958 and 1963. The study area consisted of the entire Ogotoruk Creek drainage(approximately 4,700 acres), but most facilities were concentrated near the Chukchi Sea coast. Test holes were installed to evaluate geologic conditions in support of Project Chariot. The test holes were installed with a rotary drill rig using hollow-stem diamond drill bit technology to allow for coring. It was noted in 1959 that the traditional drilling fluid thawed the permafrost which caused the sides of the test holes to slump into the bottom of the uncased holes. To overcome this difficulty, the conventional drilling fluid was replaced with refrigerated diesel fuel in 1960 and resulted in lack of sidewall sloughing. Scientists conducted a radioactive tracer experiment from August 20-25, 1962 on soils and sediments in test plots along Snowbank Creek and its confluence with Ogotoruk Creek; soil containing various radioisotopes from a Nevada nuclear blast was sprinkled on local flora to evaluate the mobility of radioactive fission products subjected to simulated conditions of rain and runoff. At the conclusion of the tests, tracer-contaminated soil was removed and transported in drums to a nearby area, where it was mixed with native soil (DOE, 2009). The soils, boards, and polyethylene sheeting used to enclose and cover the test plots were covered with about 4 feet of clean soil, which formed a small mound that occupied an area of about 400 feet; the mound remained intact until it was removed in 1993. Although a substantial amount of information was acquired, Project Chariot was cancelled due to lack of public support. No nuclear explosive devices were brought to the site. The steel test hole casings and associated diesel-contaminated soil remained at the site. Because the site was originally operated by the Atomic Energy Commission; the responsible party is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In 2014 a removal action was conducted at the test holes in which approximately 786 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil was removed from the site. Residual diesel contamination remains below the top of the permafrost to the depth of the borings in Test Holes Baker, Charlie, Dog and X-1, which is impracticable to remove. Intuitional controls are necessary for these test holes to document contamination left at place.

Action Information

Action Date Action Description DEC Staff
9/16/1992 Site Added to Database Abandoned hazardous substance. Former Staff
9/16/1992 Site Ranked Using the AHRM Site ranked for risk and priority evaluation of radioactive material using the highest level of toxicity element. Former Staff
12/23/1993 Update or Other Action (Old R:Base Action Code = RAU - Remedial Actions Underway (General)). Remedial action took place in July and August, 1993. DOE removed soil contaminated with radionuclides and conducted a large scale biota sampling program. A remote field camp was setup for 50 people and the field operations lasted 5 weeks. ADEC conducted oversight of the DOE field operations, including taking split and independent soil and biota samples for radionuclides. Approximately 150 cubic yards of material was removed, placed on a barge to Seattle, and then transported overland to the Nevada Test Site for final Burial. Work still to be completed consists of an ADEC final site activities report and data interpretation, review of DOE reports, cooperation with ATSDR on their health consultation, public presentation of the reports, review of any remaining classified documents, placement of the declassified documents and ADEC records in the UAF archives, and a final site visit. Former Staff
6/10/1994 Site Number Identifier Changed Reckey changed to reflect appropriate workplan. Former Staff
8/17/1995 Site Closure Approved On August 26, 1993, excavations of the mound and the cesium 137 site were completed. Sample results from DEC's analysis for strontium 90 and plutonium 235 were all below the cleanup levels. All results from the verification samples were also below 10 pCi/g cesium 137 (cleanup level). Therefore, ADEC issued clean closure on both of the areas. Those areas were then graded and revegetated. Doug Dasher
3/6/2001 Update or Other Action File number updated from 475.25.001 to 475.38.008. Mitzi Read
2/7/2003 Site Number Identifier Changed Changed the Region from 36 to 31. Former Staff
12/21/2005 Update or Other Action Recieved update from DOE that site communications are to be transferred to the DOE Office of Legacy Management. Contact is Art Kleinrath or Audrey Betty. Supporting documents for the project are located at www.lm.doe.gov. Mike Jaynes
6/8/2009 Update or Other Action DEC was contacted by Mr. Rex Tuzroyluk from Point Hope who is concerned that diesel fuel used in deep soil borings/wells as part of the AEC testing in the 1960s may be impacting a nearby stream. He is working with Ridolfi Inc, an engineering firm, which has contacted DOE. DEC staff called Mark Kautsky, the current DOE Office of Legacy Management project manager for the site. Mark had been contacted by Ridolfi Inc regarding the same concerns and had sent a reply with a summary on the borehole history; DOE has documentation that diesel fuel was used in two (Charlie and Dog) of the deep borings to minimize permafrost thawing but doesn't have records of diesl being used in the first two (Able and Baker). Boring Able is on the Lane allotment and boring Charlie appears to be close to the allotment boundary. Additional details are available on the DOE websits at www.lm.doe.gov/land/sites/ak/chariot/chariot.htm John Halverson
3/18/2010 Update or Other Action USACE announced plans to investigate the test borings that were installed by the Department of Energy during the Project Chariot time frame. Five borings were advanced deep below ground surface to test the temperature gradient and refrigerated diesel fuel was used to keep the borings from collapsing. The USACE is perfomring this investgation work on behalf of the Department of Energy who will be the responsible party for this site if contamination is identified through this summer's sampling. Jonathan Schick
10/13/2010 Update or Other Action Contaminated Sites staff submitted comments on the Draft Report for Limited Soil Investigation of the Project Chariot Test Holes at Cape Thompson. The report details the results from sampling that was conducted during July of this year. The sampling consisted of collecting 18 surface soil samples from the vicinity of each of the 5 Project Chariot Test Holes. The results indicate that there are petroleum impacts that resulted from the installation of deep test borings that were filled with Diesel fuel to keep them from collapsing. The results ranged from low levels up to 59,000 mg/kg of DRO. The State's main concern with the report was that the results were compared to the ADEC MEthod Two cleanuip level for Arctic soil, but since the impacts are located on a man-made gravel pad, the results should be compared to the more conservative Method One cleanup level of 500 mg/kg as opposed to the Method Two level of 12,500 mg/kg. Also the State expressed concern that the land manager, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has not been adequately included in the decision making process for the site Jonathan Schick
11/1/2010 Update or Other Action ADEC Contaminated Sites Staff recieved response to our comments on the Draft Project Chariot Soil Investigation Report. Generally the responses were in agreement with our comments and concerns specifically regarding the appropriate cleanup level fo 500 mg/kg at the site because of the fact that the impacts are mostly contained on man-made gravel pads. Jonathan Schick
12/22/2011 Site Reopened This site has been reopened in response to community concerns over petroleum contamination around the test holes bored during Project Chariot. John Halverson
7/8/2014 Cleanup Plan Approved The ADEC Contaminated Site Program approved the 2014 Final Remedial Action Work Plan, Project Chariot, Cape Thompson, Alaska Jessica Morris
8/5/2014 Site Visit John Halverson travelled to Kotzebue and to Cape Thompson with Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management staff on August 4-6th to conduct a fieldwork site inspection and to participate in a media day with members of the press to show them the cleanup activities, describe the project and answer any questions. Work was proceeding in accordance with the approved workplan. Based on the inspection and site conditions, verbal approval was given to use the arctic zone DRO soil cleanup level for subsurface soil at the test hole X-1 site. Also requested select soil samples from the X-1 site be analyzed for PCB, VOCs and SVOCs due to odor in the soil. (note - subsequent analytical results did not find any additional contaminants of concern.) John Halverson
8/20/2014 Site Visit John Halverson travelled to Cape Thompson on August 20 with DOE LM staff to conduct an end of field season site inspection. Final excavation and backfilling work was underway. Excavated, contaminated soil was being weighed in supersacks, placed into connex boxes, and staged for loading onto the barge. Temporary access roads appeared to be in good shape and the contractor was planning to remove temporary matting from the trail to Test Hole Dog along with some final leveling and reseeding. On August 22 the group returned to the site along with five Point Hope residents to inspect the sites and cleanup activities and discuss the site history along with the prior and current cleanup activities. John Halverson
4/7/2015 Final Cleanup Report Reviewed The ADEC Contaminated Site Program approved the 2014 Final Remedial Action Report, Project Chariot, Cape Thompson, Alaska. Approximately 786 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil was excavated and removed from the four former drill sites associated with the test holes. Diesel contamination was not encountered at Test Hole Able, and this test hole was recommended for cleanup complete site closure. An ADEC cleanup complete with institutional controls designation was recommended for Test Hole Baker, Charlie, Dog, and X-1 sites because residual diesel contamination below the top of the permafrost. Jessica Morris
4/10/2015 Exposure Tracking Model Ranking Initial ranking with ETM completed for source area id: 72627 name: auto-generated pm edit Project Chariot Jessica Morris
8/25/2015 Update or Other Action This file has been partially archived at Alaska Archives: Barcodes 896978, 896974, 896975, 896963, 896967, 896965, 896964, 896966, 896976, 896969 Susan Carberry
4/11/2017 Update or Other Action Draft Notice of Environmental Contamination and Institutional Controls was received. Jessica Morris
9/15/2017 Meeting or Teleconference Held DEC and Department of Energy (DOE) staff traveled to Point Hope and met with village representatives to provide a summary of petroleum contaminated soil cleanup activities conducted at the former Chariot site during 2014. Approximately 785 tons of contaminated soil were removed and transported off-site for disposal. Confirmation samples indicate cleanup levels were achieved with the exception of three individual sample locations. Because diesel fuel was used in drilling some of the test holes, DEC is requesting institutional controls (ICs) be established to document the locations of those holes and inform people that residual diesel remains within and below the permafrost; it does not pose any unacceptable risk, because there is no exposure to the diesel. However, if in the future a well were installed through the permafrost near one of these holes, deep groundwater in the vicinity may contain residual diesel compounds. DEC, DOE, and the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC), the landowner are coordinating to establish appropriate ICs. John Halverson
12/27/2019 Institutional Control Record Established Institutional Controls established and entered into the database. William Schmaltz
12/27/2019 Cleanup Complete Determination Issued Agreement of Institutional Controls issued on December 24th, 2019. Diesel contamination below permafrost. William Schmaltz

Contaminant Information

Name Level Description Media Comments
For more information about this site, contact DEC at (907) 465-5390.
DRO Between Method 2 Migration to Groundwater and Human Health/Ingestion/Inhalation Soil

Control Type

Type Details
No ICs Required

Requirements

Description Details
Advance approval required to transport soil or groundwater off-site.
Movement or use of contaminated material (including on site) in a manner that results in a violation of the water quality standards is prohibited (18 AAC 70)

There are no documents for this site report.

No associated sites were found.

Missing Location Data

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State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

P.O. Box 111800
Juneau, AK 99811-1800
Phone: 907-465-5066
Fax: 907-465-5245
TDD: 800-770-8973
Physical Location: 410 Willoughby