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Title: Phase II Investigation at the Former CCC/USDA Grain Storage Facility in Savannah, Missouri

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1172025· OSTI ID:1172025
 [1]
  1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Environmental Science Division. Applied Geosciences and Environmental Management Section

From approximately 1949 until 1970, the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CCC/USDA) operated a grain storage facility on federally owned property approximately 0.25 mi northwest of Savannah, Missouri. During this time, commercial grain fumigants containing carbon tetrachloride were commonly used by the CCC/USDA and the private grain storage industry to preserve grain in their facilities. In November 1998, carbon tetrachloride was detected in a private well (Morgan) roughly 50 ft south of the former CCC/USDA facility, as a result of statewide screening of private wells near former CCC/USDA facilities, conducted in Missouri by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 1999). The 1998 and subsequent investigations by the EPA and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) confirmed the presence of carbon tetrachloride in the Morgan well, as well as in a second well on property currently owned by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), directly east of the former CCC/USDA facility. The identified concentrations in these two wells were above the EPA maximum contaminant level (MCL) and the Missouri risk-based corrective action default target level (DTL) values of 5.0 μg/L for carbon tetrachloride in water used for domestic purposes (EPA 1999; MDNR 2000a,b, 2006). Because the observed contamination in the Morgan and MoDOT wells might be linked to the past use of carbon tetrachloride-based fumigants at its former grain storage facility, the CCC/USDA is conducting an investigation to (1) characterize the source(s), extent, and factors controlling the subsurface distribution and movement of carbon tetrachloride and (2) evaluate the potential risks to human health, public welfare, and the environment posed by the contamination. This work is being performed in accord with an Intergovernmental Agreement established in 2007 between the Farm Service Agency of the USDA and the MDNR, to address carbon tetrachloride contamination potentially associated with a number of former CCC/USDA grain storage facilities in Missouri. The site characterization at Savannah is being conducted on behalf of the CCC/USDA by the Environmental Science Division of Argonne National Laboratory. The investigation is being conducted in phases, so that information obtained and interpretations developed during each incremental stage can be used most effectively to guide subsequent phases of the program. Phase II objectives: Investigate the more detailed characteristics of groundwater flow in the vicinity of the former CCC/USDA facility and the contaminated Morgan and MoDOT private wells; Obtain additional information on the vertical and lateral distribution and concentrations of carbon tetrachloride in groundwater in the vicinity of the former CCC/USDA facility and the contaminated Morgan and MoDOT private wells; Investigate further for possible evidence of carbon tetrachloride in the subsurface (vadose zone) and deeper soils beneath the former CCC/USDA facility, as well as in the vicinity of the contaminated MoDOT private well.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) (United States). Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1172025
Report Number(s):
ANL/EVS/AGEM/TR-12-08; 106113
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English