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Title: Final work plan : investigation of potential contamination at the former CCC/USDA grain storage facility in Hanover, Kansas.

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/946043· OSTI ID:946043

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), operated a grain storage facility at the northeastern edge of the city of Hanover, Kansas, from 1950 until the early 1970s. During this time, commercial grain fumigants containing carbon tetrachloride were in common use by the grain storage industry to preserve grain in their facilities. In February 1998, trace to low levels of carbon tetrachloride (below the maximum contaminant level [MCL] of 5.0 {micro}g/L) were detected in two private wells near the former grain storage facility at Hanover, as part of a statewide USDA private well sampling program that was implemented by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) near former CCC/USDA facilities. In April 2007, the CCC/USDA collected near-surface soil samples at 1.8-2 ft BGL (below ground level) at 61 locations across the former CCC/USDA facility. All soil samples were analyzed by the rigorous gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer analytical method (purge-and-trap method). No contamination was found in soil samples above the reporting limit of 10 {micro}g/kg. In July 2007, the CCC/USDA sampled indoor air at nine residences on or adjacent to its former facility to address the residents concerns regarding vapor intrusion. Low levels of carbon tetrachloride were detected at four of the nine homes. Because carbon tetrachloride found in private wells and indoor air at the site might be linked to historical use of fumigants containing carbon tetrachloride at its former grain storage facility, the CCC/USDA is proposing to conduct an investigation to determine the source and extent of the carbon tetrachloride contamination associated with the former facility. This investigation will be conducted in accordance with the intergovernmental agreement between the KDHE and the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the USDA. The investigation at Hanover will be performed, on behalf of the CCC/USDA, by the Environmental Science Division of Argonne National Laboratory. Argonne is a nonprofit, multidisciplinary research center operated by UChicago Argonne, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The CCC/USDA has entered into an interagency agreement with DOE, under which Argonne provides technical assistance to the CCC/USDA with environmental site characterization and remediation at its former grain storage facilities. Seven technical objectives have been proposed for the Hanover investigation. They are as follows: (1) Identify the sources and extent of soil contamination beneath the former CCC/USDA facility; (2) Characterize groundwater contamination beneath the former CCC/USDA facility; (3) Determine groundwater flow patterns; (4) Define the vertical and lateral extent of the groundwater plume outside the former CCC/USDA facility; (5) Evaluate the aquifer and monitor the groundwater system; (6) Identify any other potential sources of contamination that are not related to activities of the CCC/USDA; and (7) Determine whether there is a vapor intrusion problem at the site attributable to the former CCC/USDA facility. The technical objectives will be accomplished in a phased approached. Data collected during each phase will be evaluated to determine whether the subsequent phase is necessary. The KDHE project manager and the CCC/USDA will be contacted during each phase and kept apprised of the results. Whether implementation of each phase of work is necessary will be discussed and mutually agreed upon by the CCC/USDA and KDHE project managers.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDA
DOE Contract Number:
DE-AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
946043
Report Number(s):
ANL/EVS/AGEM/TR-08-10; TRN: US200904%%227
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH