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Site Report: Eielson AFB AFFF Area #4 Fire Training Area (FT009) & Former Base Landfill (LF003)

Site Name: Eielson AFB AFFF Area #4 Fire Training Area (FT009) & Former Base Landfill (LF003)
Address: ~1,200 Ft N of Taxiway Refeuling Loop & ~700 Ft E of S End of Runway, Eielson AFB, AK 99702
File Number: 107.38.171
Hazard ID: 26997
Status: Active
Staff: Sarah Bernhardt, 9072697527 sarah.bernhardt@alaska.gov
Latitude: 64.652935
Longitude: -147.073638
Horizontal Datum:WGS84

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

Fire training exercises at the Fire Training Area (FTA) began in 1955 and historical accounts indicate that the exercises involved burning waste oils, contaminated fuels, and spent solvents. Procedures involved saturating the ground with approximately 5,000 gallons of water, applying fuel, burning the fuel for 30 seconds, and extinguishing it with foam. Aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) use is likely to have occurred starting in the mid-1970s. The previous FTA was replaced by a new, lined fire training facility in 1995. The landfill was used as the main Base landfill from 1967 to 1987, receiving household garbage, scrap lumber and metal, construction debris, concrete slabs, empty cans, and drums from flightline industrial shops, as well as possibly waste oils, spent solvents, and paint residues and thinners. The subsurface landfill was unlined and contained several excavated areas and trenches for disposal, which reportedly reached below the water table. Potential per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination may be associated with fire training exercises that were reported to have been conducted in the same area as the landfill operations between 1967 and 1976. A historical aerial photograph dated 1959 shows a stained area that is a potential location of a burn pit within the landfill area, separate from the FTA. Additionally, the landfill may contribute to PFAS contamination from other materials containing PFAS within the former main Base landfill.

Action Information

Action Date Action Description DEC Staff
2/19/2019 Site Added to Database A new site has been added to the database Mitzi Read
5/22/2019 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other DEC provided comments on a Draft Expanded PFOA and PFOS Site Inspection at Eielson Air Force Base and Moose Creek, Alaska, Uniform Federal Policy-Quality Assurance Project Plan Work Plan, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, May 2019. The plan includes installation of 24 monitoring well, groundwater sampling and stepout borings to identify monitoring well locations. Dennis Shepard
9/20/2019 CERCLA SI The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)jointly approved the Expanded Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) Site Inspection at Eielson Air Force Base and Moose Creek Uniform Federal Policy-Quality Assurance Project Plan Work Plan (September 2019). Soil and groundwater delineation activities for PFOS and PFOA on Eielson AFB and in the areas in and around Moose Creek, Alaska will be undertaken.. Dennis Shepard
8/11/2020 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other DEC received a response to comments and a Final Revision 1 Supplemental Remedial Investigation/Risk Assessment Report for OU- 3,4,5 Source Areas, Eielson Performance Based Remediation, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, dated August 2020. This report summarizes remedial investigation (RI)/risk assessment (RA) activities conducted from 2015 through 2018 at Source Areas LF001, LF002, LF003/FT009, LF004, LF006, WP032, WP033, SS036, SS037, DP044, WP045/SS057, DP055, ST056, SS061, and SS064 on Eielson Air Force Base. Dennis Shepard
8/11/2020 Meeting or Teleconference Held DEC, EPA and Air Force remedial project managers met to scope a remedial investigation for the per and poly fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) contaminated source areas on Eielson Air Force Base. Sample collection of soil, groundwater, surface water, sediments and biota were discussed. The Air Force confirmed that a contract for the work was awarded on August 4, 2020, and work plans are being prepared. Dennis Shepard
1/29/2021 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other DEC received a draft Quality Assurance Project Plan, Remedial Investigation (RI) for PFAS at Various Sites, Eielson AFB, Alaska. The purpose of the RI is to characterize the nature and extent of 24 PFAS compounds, specifically perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS),perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) through the application of adaptive high-resolution site characterization and the development of a flux-based conceptual site model.The outcome of the RI will be (1) flux-based ranking of sources and mapping of migration pathway(s), and (2) delineation of soil, groundwater, sediment, and surface water impacts. Dennis Shepard
6/2/2021 CERCLA RI Report Approved The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) provided joint approval of the Final Supplemental Remedial Investigation/Risk Assessment Report for OU3,4,5 Source Areas, Eielson Air Force Base (May 2021). The report summarizes remedial investigation (RI)/risk assessment (RA) activities conducted from 2015 through 2018 at Source Areas LF001, LF002, LF003/FT009, LF004, LF006, WP032, WP033, SS036, SS037, DP044, WP045/SS057, DP055, ST056, SS061, and SS064 on Eielson Air Force Base. Dennis Shepard
12/30/2021 Exposure Tracking Model Ranking Initial ranking with ETM completed for source area id: 80367 name: AFFF Area #4 Fire Training Area (FT009) & Former Base Landfill (LF003) (AT304) Dennis Shepard
8/29/2022 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other DEC provided backcheck review comments for the Final Supplemental Remedial Investigation Work Plan, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska (August 2022). The Supplemental Remedial Investigation (RI) Work Plan describes the 2022 RI activities to be conducted at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. The scope of the Supplemental RI is to address current data gaps at the CERCLA source areas on Eielson AFB for all operating units. Dennis Shepard

Contaminant Information

Name Level Description Media Comments

Control Type

Type Details

Requirements

Description Details
Hazard ID Site Name File Number
381 Eielson AFB (OU-5) (FT009) Fire Training 107.38.031
379 Eielson AFB (OU-5) LF003 107.38.029

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