Site Report: BLM Ungalik Airstrip Drum Spill Site
| Site Name: | BLM Ungalik Airstrip Drum Spill Site |
|---|---|
| Address: | Ungalik Airstrip, ~10 Mi ESE of Ungalik, ~23 Mi NE of Shaktoolik, Shaktoolik, AK 99771 |
| File Number: | 620.38.002 |
| Hazard ID: | 4592 |
| Status: | Cleanup Complete |
| Staff: | No Longer Assigned, 9074655229 dec.icunit@alaska.gov |
| Latitude: | 64.547197 |
| Longitude: | -160.794667 |
| Horizontal Datum: | WGS84 |
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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
The presence of about 150 drums at the south end of a remote airstrip was reported to BLM in 1993. During a site visit in 1995, BLM staff noted that several of the drums were leaking. The leaking drums were predominantly in Drum Area 1 and 2. There were drums scattered around the site, and a third area held numerous drums which did not appear to be leaking. Soil samples collected from beneath the leaking drums detected diesel range organics as high as 59,400 mg/kg. During drum removal activities in 2003, it was noted that some of the drums labeled full in the 1995 site visit were empty. A 2006 site inspection revealed several areas of dead or stressed vegetation, these areas were sampled in 2007. The 2007 samples detected diesel range organics as high as 62,000 mg/kg. The drums were the property of a local miner who purchased old military drums to transport fuel to his nearby mining claim. The owner of the mine is deceased, but his heirs removed the drums in the summer of 2003 at the request of BLM. BLM assisted the family by consolidating drums and collecting soil samples from soils impacted by the leaking drums. The sample locations from the 2003 sampling event were either undocumented, or that documentation has been lost. With the exception of the areas of dead or stressed vegetation, the airstrip is overgrown and no longer usable for fixed wing aircraft.
Action Information
| Action Date | Action | Description | DEC Staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/11/2008 | Site Added to Database | Site added to the database. | Mitzi Read |
| 2/12/2008 | Update or Other Action | Received and reviewed the November 2007 Ungalik Airstrip Drum Spill Site Characterization Draft Report. Roughly 150, 55 gallon drums were left at a gravel airstrip which serviced an abandoned mine. The drums were reported to BLM in 1993, and removed in 2003. Samples taken from soil stains and areas with dead or stressed vegetation detected diesel range organics to 62,000 mg/kg. The airstirp has grown over with vegetation and is no longer in use. The nearest community is Shaktoolik which is 18 miles to the southeast of the site. | Kim DeRuyter |
| 4/9/2008 | Site Characterization Report Approved | Limited Site Characterization Report Approved, the report was received on March 25. Comments to the draft were addressed in the final report. Further characterization is planned for 2008. | Kim DeRuyter |
| 5/5/2008 | Exposure Tracking Model Ranking | Initial ranking with ETM completed. The site is not currently in use, but the local Native Corporation would like to revitalize the nearby mine when the land is conveyed from BLM. If the soil is not remediated, it will pose a risk to future site users. | Kim DeRuyter |
| 7/28/2008 | Site Characterization Workplan Approved | The 2008 Ungalik Airstrip Site Characterization Work Plan was received by the ADEC on July 25, 2008. The work plan documents plans to conduct a geophysical survey using of an EM-31 to detect and map soil contaminants by measuring conductivity and magnetic sensitivity in subsurface soil. The EM-31 combined with visual observation of the previously documented soil stains will guide the use of a Geoprobe direct-push drill equipped with a Membrane Interface Probe (MIP) which will collect realtime data as it is advanced through the soil. Approximately 20 subsurface soil samples will be collected and analyzed for DRO and RRO. In addition, one sample from each of the 4 areas of concern will be collected from the boring exhibiting the highest concentrations of VOCs on the MIP. These samples will be analyzed for GRO, BTEX, PAHs, RCRA metals, DRO and RRO. | Kim DeRuyter |
| 3/13/2009 | Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other | The Draft Ungalik Airstrip Site Characterization Report was received by the ADEC on February 19, 2009. The EM-31 preliminary characterization was not completed as planned, and the Membrane Interface Probe was not used due to equipment failure. Instead all screening of samples was done using a Photo Ionization Detector (PID). Sufficient soil samples were obtained to characterize the contamination at this site in compliance with the regulations, however cleanup recommendations and proposed cleanup techniques were not submitted with the report as required under 18 AAC 75.335. The ADEC comment letter recommended including a cleanup proposal in the final report. | Fred Vreeman |
| 1/25/2011 | Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other | Review and telephone conversation with BLM on cleanup plan for Ungalik Airstrip. ADEC agrees that cleanup of remaining surface contamination can be delayed. If further sampling shows declining concentration in surface and subsurface soils then natural attenuation may be utilized as part of cleanup technique. This decision needs to be reviewed if the use of the airstrip changes to active. At this time there is no exposure because the site is not accessible and the airstrip is not usable. | Fred Vreeman |
| 6/1/2011 | Cleanup Plan Approved | Cleanup plan approved. The revised cleanup plan submitted February 22, 2011 is accepted. | Fred Vreeman |
| 6/1/2011 | Site Characterization Report Approved | Sent approval letter. Subject: "Approval of 2009 Site Investigation Report, Ungalik Abandoned Airstrip near Shaktoolik, Alaska and supplemental 2011 Cleanup Proposal" | Fred Vreeman |
| 8/21/2012 | Cleanup Plan Approved | Sent approval letter with comments. Subject: "ADEC Review of July 2012 Corrective Action Plan, Ungalik Airstrip Drum Spill Site at Ungalik Airstrip". The work plan describes excavation and remediation activities planned at Ungalik Airstrip beginning in September 2012. Excavation is proposed at the three former drum storage areas and the dead vegetation area. Excavated material will be landspread on a former airstrip, and annual multi-incremental samples will be collected after land spreading and annually for four years or until concentrations of DRO in the land spread soil attenuate to concentrations below cleanup levels. | Fred Vreeman |
| 3/18/2014 | Final Cleanup Report Reviewed | The 2012 Site Assessment Report for Corrective Action at Ungalik Airstrip Drum Spill Site, Ungalik, Alaska was reviewed. In September 2012, the contaminated soils at the Ungalik Airstrip site were removed from the four areas of concern and placed onto the area of the former airstrip which was to be used as the land spread area. Analytical soil samples were taken at the depths of each excavated area (up to 8.6 ft. below ground surface), and multi-increment sampling was conducted on the land spread area both before and after the contaminated soil was applied. None of the soil samples taken in 2012 were above the ADEC-approved Method Two Ingestion cleanup level of 10,250 mg/kg DRO, suggesting that the natural attenuation of the diesel contamination in the soil had occurred six years faster than predicted in the 2012 monitored natural attenuation cleanup plan. | Monte Garroutte |
| 3/18/2014 | Cleanup Complete Determination Issued | As determined in the 2012 Site Assessment Report for Corrective Action at Ungalik Airstrip Drum Spill Site, Ungalik, Alaska, all of the DRO contaminated soil left in place at the site was below the ADEC-approved Method Two Ingestion cleanup level of 10,250 mg/kg DRO. A cleanup complete determination was issued to the Bureau of Land Management on 3/18/2014 and a signed landowner concurrence letter was digitally received by ADEC on 4/2/2014. | Monte Garroutte |
Contaminant Information
| Name | Level Description | Media | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| DRO | Between Method 2 Migration to Groundwater and Human Health/Ingestion/Inhalation | Soil | DRO remains in the soil above migration to groundwater cleanup levels but is below the healthbased ingestion and inhalation levels. There is no groundwater at the site and it is highly unlikely that runoff will carry contamination to a surface water body. |
Control Type
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| No ICs Required |
Requirements
| Description | Details |
|---|---|
| Advance approval required to transport soil or groundwater off-site. |
No associated sites were found.