Elements of a CERCLA action at a former Army ammunition plant
The Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant covers 44 km{sup 2} and is located near several large population centers. Leased sites within the plant are now being used for various activities including recreation and manufacturing. Plans are in place for conversion of an additional 3,000 ha to a commercial amusement park. Some 400 structures from the plant remain and most must be removed if further ventures are to take place. Many of the buildings are structurally unsound or contain potentially hazardous materials, such as explosive residues, lead sheathing or asbestos shingles, that were stored or used in the construction of the structures. State and federal agencies agreed that the buildings should be destroyed, but the method to do so was unclear. Analysis on building by building basis revealed that in many cases explosive residue made it unsafe to remove the buildings by any other method rather than combustion. Completion of a comprehensive destruction plan that included ground-level monitoring of combustion plumes, and burn scheduling under tightly prescribed micro and mesoscale meteorological conditions was approved by the EPA as a non-time critical removal action under CERCLA in 1996; the US Army was designated as the lead agency. Personnel at the University of Kansas assisted in developing the destruction plan and helped conduct two test burns using the comprehensive plan protocols. Results of one test burn scenario on June 26, 1997, intended as a test of probable dispersion safety margin and covered extensively by print and television media, the EPA and State agencies, are described in this paper. The selected building was smaller than typical of the buildings on the plant site. The events leading to a burn decision on the test day are used to illustrate the decision-making process.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 20003325
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-990608-; TRN: IM200003%%160
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Air and Waste 92nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition, St. Louis, MO (US), 06/20/1999--06/24/1999; Other Information: 1 CD-ROM. Operating Systems: Windows 3.1, '95, '98 and NT; Macintosh; and UNIX; PBD: 1999; Related Information: In: Air and Waste 92nd annual meeting and exhibition proceedings, [9500] pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Superfund record of decision (EPA Region 4): Alabama Army Ammunition Plant (Operable Unit 1), AL. (First remedial action), December 1991. Final report
Community Environmental Response Facilitation Act (CERFA) report, Alabama Army Ammunition Plant, Talladega County, Alabama. Final report