Problems/Comments
Building 1700 was constructed in 1963, and was historically used for maintaining aircraft refueling trucks (USAF, February 1964). Beginning in 1999, the building was used for boat and snowmobile storage (USAF, August 2003), and was later used for cold storage (Earth Tech, Inc., May 2007). The southern portion of the site is used for vehicle access from Engineer’s Way to the power plant (Building 1499), and driveways on the north and south ends of Building 1700 provide vehicle access to the building. Building 1700 was constructed with interior floor drains, an OWS, exhaust fans, an exterior UST, and a dry well to support maintenance activities, which involved opening and clearing fuel transfer pumps and hoses of petroleum fuels. Site SS019 was initially identified as an area of interest during the remedial investigation (RI) of the Former Galena FOL from 1992 to 1994, when elevated organic vapors were detected in soil vapor samples collected southwest of Building 1700. Real property records for Building 1700 indicate that the building included a floor drain trough, a “grease trap” with a 4-inch-diameter line to a dry well outside the building, and a 2-inch-diameter line for an “oil drain tank.” A 55-gallon underground waste oil drum (UST 1700-1) was also identified in the records for Building 1700.
A 300-gallon OWS with identification number 1700-1 was installed in 1963, and was active until 1997. Although EBS records indicate that the OWS was removed, the OWS was observed to be present, but inactive, during a 2011 site visit.
Beginning in 1993 through 2010, multiple site investigations of soil, groundwater, and soil vapor were conducted at Site SS019. Soil vapor samples for total organic vapors were collected at 23 sampling points at 6 to 8 feet bgs and analyzed using a portable photoionization detector (PID) and/or flame ionization detector (FID). Results suggested a previously unidentified release at the southwest corner of Building 1700. Organic vapor concentrations up to 444 parts per million by volume (ppmv) were measured, with the highest concentrations observed at the southwest corner of Building 1700. High organic vapor concentrations were also observed in the samples collected about 80 feet north (322 ppmv) and 230 feet south (269 ppmv) of Building 1700. It was concluded that the elevated PID and FID readings in this area may have been the result of fuel releases associated with the maintenance activities that occurred at Building 1700. The type of organic vapor (fuel or solvent) could not be differentiated using PID and FID results.
UST1700-1 was removed in 1997. Approximately 200 gallons of water and 80 gallons of oil mixed with water were removed from the UST. The excavation was approximately 9 feet by 13 feet and was 7 feet deep. The volume of soil removed was reported to be limited to the amount necessary to remove each tank. Associated piping was removed to within 5 feet of the building. The tank was reported to be in good condition. Sampls collected beneath the former UST had concentrations of GRO (3,900 mg/kg), DRO (6,160 mg/kg), RRO (2,180 mg/kg), benzene (1.8 mg/kg), toluene (28.5 mg/kg), and total xylenes (134.1 mg/kg), 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene (76.5 mg/kg), 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (26.6 mg/kg), and naphthalene (22.6 mg/kg) exceeding extent soil SLs. Samples collected south of the former UST also had concentrations of GRO (2,300 mg/kg maximum), DRO (7,040 mg/kg maximum), RRO (1,870 mg/kg maximum), benzene (2.68 mg/kg), toluene (55.8 mg/kg), and total xylenes (170 mg/kg), 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene (91 mg/kg), 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (41.6 mg/kg), and naphthalene (27 mg/kg) exceeding extent soil SLs.
VOCs were detected at this site in concentrations exceeding screening levels (SLs). These included primarily fuel-related VOCs but also include chlorinated VOCs. The SL exceedances occurred in soil samples collected from depths ranging from 0 to 41 feet bgs. TCE, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, and benzene concentrations exceed the SLs in the deepest samples; therefore the vertical extent of VOC contamination is not defined. The maximum TCE concentration of 1.12 J mg/kg was detected in the soil sample from SS019_GP002 (at UST 1700-1) at 10 to 12 feet bgs, and the maximum exceedance depth was for the sample at 41 feet bgs at the adjacent sample.
Chlorinated VOCs, including TCE, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, and vinyl chloride are present in elevated concentrations in the samples from upgradient location SS019_GP001, at the UST (SS019_GP002), the dry well (06-MCW-03), and the downgradient monitoring wells. The presence of these COIs in the upgradient boring indicate Site SS019 has also been impacted by the contaminant plume originating at Site SS006. Concentrations of VOCs increase at the UST and dry well, indicating these are sources of chlorinated VOCs. Concentrations are highest at the south portion of Site SS019 directly downgradient of Site SS006.
The plume merges with the plume from SS006 shows a high-concentration core approximately 300 feet long, with relatively steep concentration gradients along its axis, resulting in a plume approximately 920 feet long and 420 feet wide. The extent of the plume is delineated to the north, southeast, the west, and the southwest, but not in the east or southeast, north, or northeast. The highest concentrations of TCE in groundwater within the plume are located beneath the central portion of Site SS006, where concentrations up to 40,000 µg/L (SS006-MW58) were detected during 2010 and 2011. Results suggest TCE concentrations are increasing along the fringes of the Site SS006 TCE plume, particularly the downgradient end. For example, at well 06-MW-15 located approximately 200 feet south/southwest of the Site SS006 boundary (see Figure 34), TCE concentrations in Groundwater have increased from 93.6 µg/L in 2004 to 578 µg/L in fall 2011.
A Final version of a Remedial Investigation of SS019 was submitted to the DEC on September 25, 2013. They concluded that at Site SS019, concentrations of GRO, DRO, metals (limited to arsenic and chromium), SVOCs, and VOCs in soil samples exceed the Method Two CULs for migration to groundwater. Concentrations of DRO, metals, SVOCs, and VOCs in groundwater samples exceed the ADEC CULs for groundwater. These results indicate that there may be unacceptable risk to future excavation/construction workers, occupational workers, and hypothetical future residents at Site SS019 because of the exceedances. A baseline human health risk assessment under CERCLA will need to be conducted to complete the DQOs of the RI.
This site was merged with site SS019 B1700 POL (File Number 860.38.059) when it was determined that the POL contamination at this site was intermixed with the VOC contamination underground. Site SS019 B1700 POL was changed to "non-qualifying" as the POL contamination will be addressed at this site.
Action Information
