FUSRAP

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Introduction to Formerly Utilized Sites

REMEDIAL ACTION PROGRAM (FUSRAP)

PROGRAM MISSION

In 1974 the Atomic Energy Commission established the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) under authorities granted by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. FUSRAP encompasses 46 sites in 14 states and is funded through the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Operations Office. Its mission is to identify, investigate, and clean up or control sites where residual radioactivity exceeding current guidelines remains from the early years of the nation's atomic energy program or other sites assigned to the Department of Energy by Congress.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION

During the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, work in support of the atomic energy program was performed at sites throughout the United States. Activities at some sites were conducted during World War II under the Manhattan Engineer District; other sites were involved in peacetime activities under the Atomic Energy Commission. Both the Manhattan Engineer District and the Atomic Energy Commission were predecessors of the Department of Energy. During the 1940s, uranium ore was shipped to the Manhattan Engineer District from the Belgian Congo or mined in the western United States and Canada. Most of the North American ore went directly into processing. The African ore was placed in temporary storage and was then sent either directly to a processing facility or to a sampling and assaying facility before being processed. After processing, the ore was sent to either a uranium enrichment facility or a uranium metal machining plant. Wastes from uranium processing were transported to storage and disposal facilities. Enriched uranium was sent directly to weapons development sites, and machined uranium was sent to production reactors, primarily the Hanford Reservation in the State of Washington in the 1940s and the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina in the 1950s. These reactors produced basic materials used in making nuclear weapons; the materials were then shipped from the production reactors to weapons development facilities.

Generally, sites used for Manhattan Engineer District/Atomic Energy Commission­related activities were decontaminated and released for use under the cleanup guidelines in effect at the time. Because those guidelines were less stringent than today's guidelines, small amounts of radioactive materials remained at some of the sites. Over the years, contamination sometimes spread, primarily through the soil or air, to vicinity properties as the result of releases from operating facilities or when buildings were dismantled or materials were moved.

In 1974 the Atomic Energy Commission established FUSRAP to study and clean up these sites. When Manhattan Engineer District-related radioactive material is thought to be present, historical records are reviewed, radiological surveys of the site are performed, and contractual liability is established. If radioactive material related to Manhattan Engineer District or Atomic Energy Commission activities is found, cleanup is authorized under FUSRAP. Congress has also added to FUSRAP some sites with industrial contamination similar to that produced by Manhattan Engineer District or Atomic Energy Commission activities.

FUSRAP MAJOR OBJECTIVES Find and evaluate sites that supported Manhattan Engineer District/Atomic Energy Commission nuclear work (or other sites assigned by Congress) and determine whether they need cleanup and/or control. Clean up or maintain these sites so that they meet current guidelines. Dispose of or stabilize radioactive material in a way that is safe for the public and the environment. Perform all work in compliance with appropriate federal laws and regulations and comply with state and local environmental laws and land-use requirements. Certify the sites for appropriate future use.

The Department of Energy continues to improve its FUSRAP objectives and modify the scope of the program as it learns from previous activities under FUSRAP and other national cleanup programs. The Office of Environmental Restoration, within the Office of Environmental Management at the Department of Energy Headquarters in Washington, D.C., provides program guidance for FUSRAP and other Environmental Management programs and provides for designation activities. Day-to-day technical, administrative, and financial management of FUSRAP activities is the responsibility of the Former Sites Restoration Division of the Department of Energy Operations Office in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Other federal agencies, state and local governments, and property owners also play key roles in FUSRAP. Federal agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provide oversight and regulatory direction for Department of Energy activities at some FUSRAP sites. State governments ensure compliance with state regulations. Local governments work to ensure the protection of the community and help inform the public about cleanup activities. Property owners may provide critical information about past activities at FUSRAP sites and current community concerns. The Department of Energy actively solicits input from these and other stakeholders at FUSRAP sites.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (also known as Superfund) is the main law governing cleanup of many FUSRAP sites. Removal actions under this act involve monitoring, cleaning up, and removing contamination. The process for remedial actions involves study, design, and construction of longer-term remedial responses.

Six of the 46 FUSRAP sites are on the Environmental Protection Agency National Priorities List. At these sites, Federal Facilities Agreements between the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency guide cleanup. The federal facilities agreement sets cleanup priorities, defines responsibilities and interactions, and establishes a schedule for work at a site. The Department of Energy integrates the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act activity with other laws that apply to the site. Potentially applicable laws include the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, which sets basic national policy on environmental protection; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which is the principal federal statute governing management of hazardous chemical waste; the Toxic Substances Control Act; the Clean Air Act; the Clean Water Act; the Safe Drinking Water Act; and state and local regulations. The types of waste found at each site primarily determine the laws that apply.

The waste at FUSRAP sites consists primarily of low concentrations of uranium, radium, and thorium on building surfaces and in soil. Much of this residual radioactive material resulted from processing ore to recover uranium and thorium. This waste is "A by­product" material known as ll(e)2 (defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended by the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978). Very low levels of uranium from the machining of uranium metal are found at several FUSRAP sites. This waste is classified as low­level radioactive waste and is stored or disposed of according to applicable federal, state, and local regulations and guidelines. The Department of Energy currently uses both commercial disposal facilities and federal sites to dispose of the waste. The estimated total volume of waste at the 46 FUSRAP sites is 1.9 million cubic meters (2.3 million cubic yards).

Each FUSRAP site requires a site-specific waste management strategy that appropriately addresses pollution control; waste treatment, storage, disposal, and transportation; interface requirements; and implementation of new technology. Pollution control measures include: using ventilation controls that capture fumes and particulates; installing air cleaning equipment with a high degree of collection efficiency; applying water mist to suppress dust during construction and decontamination; and using sedimentation and erosion controls such as silt fencing, hay bales, stone riprap, and vegetative groundcover to minimize run-on and runoff.

Under FUSRAP, each site is remediated to a standard that considers possible future uses for the land. Cleaning up FUSRAP sites not only eliminates potential health hazards and protects the environment, but also may allow previously unusable or restricted property to be returned to uses that benefit the community. At sites cleaned up to levels that allow unrestricted land use, people can live safely on the property, drink water from onsite wells, or grow crops or livestock for food. At sites where future residential or agricultural use would not be likely, industrial cleanup standards may apply, and there may be restrictions on how the property can be developed. The Department of Energy currently estimates that all FUSRAP sites will be completed by the year 2016, at a total cost of approximately $2.5 billion. The overall cost and duration of the program are consistent with the 1995 estimate. However, changes due to re-estimating the sites and rescheduling the priority of work within the program have led to differences between the 1995 and 1996 estimated costs within each state. The following table depicts these differences.

Base case cost estimates and completion dates in this Baseline Environmental Management Report support the present scope of remedial action assumptions based on plans that are currently under review and may require revision. For example, the planned or proposed remedies for some sites have not been implemented because they were not acceptable to everyone in the affected communities. The Department of Energy continues to work with these communities to identify alternative remedies; cost estimates may need to be adjusted appropriately when an agreement is reached on the cleanup option.

Selection of cleanup options is more complex at some of the larger FUSRAP sites than at smaller sites. Site narratives for the larger, more complex sites or groups of sites (Maywood, Middlesex Sampling Plant, and Wayne in New Jersey; the four sites in St. Louis, Missouri; the four Tonawanda Site properties in New York; and Ventron in Massachusetts), include a discussion of the current­scope assumptions on which the Baseline Environmental Management Report cost estimates were based and a range of cost estimates associated with remedial options under consideration. The Department of Energy is carefully assessing alternative remedial options, including emerging treatment technologies, innovative contracting arrangements, hazard assessment of inaccessible material, applying cleanup standards for continued industrial use, and other approaches to addressing environmental challenges more rapidly and effectively and at less expense to the taxpayer, while still providing a remedy that protects human health and the environment.

FUSRAP is dedicated to controlling costs and maximizing productivity and efficiency. A formal program is in place that encourages all employees to participate in the FUSRAP effort to improve productivity, reduce costs, and increase quality and value. The FUSRAP Productivity Improvement Program provides a systematic way to quantify employee initiatives and ensures individual recognition for achievement. Since its inception in 1989, the Productivity Improvement Program, in conjunction with the Cost Savings Initiatives Program, has produced documented savings of $74.5 million. The full­time equivalent personnel estimate for FUSRAP is approximately 300 during the next three years. This estimate does not include Headquarters personnel or field subcontract labor.

DESCRIPTION OF PERSONNEL

Current Composition

The current staffing requirements in the table below represent the skill mix required to conduct the work for the overall FUSRAP program. The contractor work force is mostly a mix of professional and labor that plans and performs the remediation of the various sites. The federal staff are captured in the Oak Ridge Operations Office narrative, Description of Personnel section.

*The projections for Full-Time Equivalent employees are based on FY 1996 planning baselines (see Reader's Guide).

Site Management Structure

The Department of Energy hires companies from the private sector to manage and perform FUSRAP activities. As the project management contractor, Bechtel National, Inc. conducts site investigations and cleanups and manages the field activities and construction necessary for remedial action. As the environmental studies contractor, Science Applications International Corporation helps the Department of Energy plan site investigations, evaluates cleanup alternatives, and ensures that all FUSRAP activities comply with environmental requirements. Bechtel's contract is a program management contract, while Science Applications International Corporation is a support services contract, and both have expiration dates of 1998. Other organizations, such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, and Argonne National Laboratory provide program management support functions including designation and verification services.

Since FUSRAP began, the Department of Energy has examined records or performed surveys on more than 400 sites. To date, 46 sites in 14 states have been designated for inclusion in FUSRAP. The Department of Energy began limited cleanup at some sites in 1979, and major remedial action has been under way since 1981. Thousands of cubic yards of radioactive material have been removed from residential and commercial properties and stored at the Department of Energy­controlled and monitored interim storage sites in Maywood, Middlesex, and Wayne, New Jersey; Colonie, New York; and Hazelwood, Missouri. The Department has completed cleanup at 21 of the 46 FUSRAP sites nationwide (see map). Information on completed sites is summarized in the listing by state below. Sections on individual states discuss the FUSRAP sites that are currently active.

California

University of California, Berkeley, CA

Gilman Hall, located on the University of California-Berkeley campus, was the site of nuclear research involving plutonium and uranium in support of Manhattan Engineer District/Atomic Energy Commission activities during the 1940s. Researchers bombarded small amounts of uranium with cyclotron-produced neutrons to produce minute quantities of plutonium. Radiological surveys in 1976 and 1981 under FUSRAP identified low-level radioactive contamination in several areas of the building; nearly all of the contamination resulted from uranium compounds that had spilled onto floors and walls. A few locations contained higher-energy gamma emitters. The Department of Energy initiated remedial action (including decontamination, removal, and shielding) in 1981 and completed remediation of all Manhattan Engineer District­related radioactive contamination in 1982. A total of 23 cubic meters (30 cubic yards) of low­level radioactive waste was shipped to Hanford for disposal.

Connecticut

Seymour Specialty Wire, Seymour, CT

Seymour Specialty Wire in Seymour, Connecticut, is a 24-hectare (60­acre) site located on Franklin Street along the west side of the Naugatuck River and just north of State Route 67. Reactive Metals, Inc., a subsidiary of Bridgeport Brass Company, later known as the Seymour Specialty Wire Company, formerly occupied the site. From 1962 to 1964, Reactive Metals used one building at the site for developmental extrusion of natural uranium metal under an Atomic Energy Commission contract and for related activities that included uranium machining, storage of radioactive material, and analytical support. Characterization of the building confirmed that uranium and its decay products were the primary contaminants. Remedial action was completed in 1993 under an expedited protocol and consisted primarily of building surface decontamination with some minor soil excavations. In 1994, 28 cubic meters (37 cubic yards) of low­level radioactive waste was transported to Envirocare of Utah for disposal.

Illinois

Granite City Steel, Granite City, IL

The Granite City Steel site, currently owned by National Steel Corporation, is located at 1417 State Street in Granite City, Illinois, northeast of the Mississippi River and across the river from St. Louis, Missouri. From 1958 to 1966, General Steel Castings Corporation (the previous site occupant) x­rayed uranium ingots for the Atomic Energy Commission under purchase orders issued by Mallinckrodt Chemical Company, a prime Atomic Energy Commission contractor. The site includes a two­story metal and concrete building where uranium ingots were x­rayed, x­ray film was developed, and two government-owned betatrons (magnetic induction electron accelerators) were housed. Radiological surveys in 1989 and 1991 identified small amounts of residual radioactivity in several discrete areas in the building. The site was decontaminated in June 1993, and 1.5 cubic meters (two cubic yards) of low­level radioactive waste was transported to Envirocare of Utah for disposal.

National Guard Armory, Chicago, IL

The National Guard Armory is located at 52nd Street and Cottage Grove, Chicago, Illinois. In the 1940s, the Manhattan Project leased the site from the State of Illinois for uranium processing and storage of radioactive material. The site was returned to the State of Illinois in 1951. During the 1980s, radiological surveys and characterization identified radioactive contamination in three small areas on the grounds, on some interior building surfaces, and in sludges from the catch basin system, which were also found to contain Resource Conservation Recovery Act hazardous chemical constituents. Remediation of radioactive contamination (totaling 18 cubic meters [24 cubic yards] of low­level radioactive waste) was completed in 1988. In July and August 1988, mixed waste containing ignitable Resource Conservation and Recovery Act hazardous waste was treated to remove the ignitable characteristic. It was then shipped to Argonne National Laboratory for interim storage before final disposal at the Hanford facility in April 1989 along with the other radioactive waste.

University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

The University of Chicago site includes seven buildings (the new Chemistry Laboratory and Annex, West Stands, Ryerson Physical Laboratory, Eckhart Hall, Kent Chemical Laboratory, Jones Chemical Laboratory, and Ricketts Laboratory) that were associated with Manhattan Engineer District/Atomic Energy Commission nuclear research and development between 1942 and 1952. When the Manhattan Engineer District/Atomic Energy Commission operations at the university ceased, the facilities were decontaminated to meet health and safety criteria then in effect, and the first three buildings were dismantled. Radiological surveys in 1976 and 1977 identified residual radioactive contamination in the remaining four buildings. The Department of Energy completed remediation of most onsite radioactive contamination in 1984. In 1987, the Department of Energy conducted characterization and remedial action for the duct system of the Jones Chemical Laboratory. Remediation was completed in 1987; a total of 34 cubic meters (45 cubic yards) of low­level radioactive waste was shipped to Hanford for disposal. The certification docket releasing the site for use with no radiological restrictions was issued in 1990.

Massachusetts

Chapman Valve, Indian Orchard, MA

The Chapman Valve site is located in Indian Orchard, a suburb of Springfield, Massachusetts. The Crane Company, which had occupied the site since 1959, vacated the buildings in 1987. During 1948, Chapman Valve engaged in a program involving machining of uranium rods for Brookhaven National Laboratory. Uranium operations were terminated in November 1948. At that time, Chapman Valve possessed more than 12,150 kilograms (27,000 pounds) of metal scrap, oxides, and sweepings. This material was removed from the site several months after the contract was completed, and the building was decontaminated to standards in effect at the time. A 1991 survey conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory indicated that the residual uranium contamination at the site exceeded today's more stringent cleanup criteria and was typical for Manhattan Engineer District/Atomic Energy Commission operations.

The Department of Energy conducted site characterization in late 1994 and early 1995. In July 1995, it began remedial action, which consisted of removal of contaminated material by brushing/scrubbing and vacuuming. The Department completed the remedial action in August 1995. It shipped a total of 15 cubic meters (20 cubic yards) of low-level radioactive waste to Envirocare of Utah for disposal.

Michigan

General Motors, Adrian, MI

The General Motors site consists of a large manufacturing plant located at 1450 Beecher Street in Adrian, Michigan, approximately 48 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Toledo, Ohio, and 56 kilometers (35 miles) southwest of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The plant, one of many large buildings located at the General Motors complex, currently manufactures plastic parts for automotive and truck divisions and employs more than 1,000 people. During the 1940s, the site was operated as an aluminum extrusion plant that made parts for the U.S. Army Air Force. The Bridgeport Brass Company, a division of National Distillers and Chemical Corporation, operated the plant under contract to the Atomic Energy Commission in the 1950s. Operations included production of uranium fuel elements for the Hanford and Savannah River Plant reactors and developmental extrusion work on thorium and depleted, natural, and slightly enriched uranium. Martin Marietta Corporation later owned the site. The current owner, Chevrolet Manufacturing Division of General Motors Corporation, purchased the site in 1974.

Contamination consisted of uranium residues located predominantly in drain lines beneath the facility. Earlier cleanup and decontamination efforts removed the majority of the contamination at the facility. Contaminated clay pipe was removed from under the floor in the sump area in the mid­1980s; several drums of contaminated materials were transported to Idaho for disposal with the onsite assistance of Argonne National Laboratory. Packing and shipping costs were paid by the Department of Energy. In 1995, the Department of Energy conducted additional remedial action, consisting of decontamination of drain pipe, floors, and sumps. Waste generated during the decontamination efforts included decontamination water and contaminated sump oils and oily sludges. Waste minimization and cost savings initiatives included the use of supplemental standards for buried drainlines and former extrusion press pits, the onsite treatment and release of decontamination water, and the solidification of oils and sludges. Cleanup began in April and was completed in July 1995. A total of 229 cubic meters (175 cubic yards) of low­level radioactive waste was shipped to Envirocare of Utah for disposal.

New Jersey

Kellex/Pierpont, Jersey City, NJ

The Kellex/Pierpont site is located at the intersection of New Jersey Route 440 and Kellogg Street in Jersey City, New Jersey. This site originally consisted of approximately 17 hectares (43 acres) with more than 20 buildings. The M.W. Kellogg Company established the Kellex Corporation as a subsidiary in 1943 for the purpose of designing and constructing the first gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment plant (the K­25 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee) under contract to the Manhattan Engineer District. Work for the Manhattan Engineer District/Atomic Energy Commission during the 1940s and early 1950s included research and development of fuel reprocessing and component testing with uranium hexafluoride as well as development and use of uranium processing and recovery techniques. In 1951, the Vitro Corporation of America assumed all the rights and obligations of Kellex. The Atomic Energy Commission contract work was discontinued at the Jersey City site in 1953, and the laboratory building where most of the Atomic Energy Commission work was conducted was decontaminated and demolished. All other original buildings were also subsequently demolished. Jersey City and Pierpont Associates, Inc., later purchased portions of the site. Various businesses currently occupy them. Radiological surveys and characterization in 1977 and 1979 identified a number of areas of above-background radioactivity in the northern and western portions of the site, and the site was assigned to FUSRAP. The Department of Energy completed remedial action, consisting of removal of contaminated soil and debris, in 1981. It shipped a total of 208 cubic meters (273 cubic yards) of low­level radioactive waste to Barnwell, South Carolina, for disposal.

Middlesex Municipal Landfill, Middlesex, NJ

The Middlesex Municipal Landfill site is located within the Borough of Middlesex in Middlesex County, New Jersey, approximately 26 kilometers (16 miles) southwest of Newark. The site consists of approximately one hectare of a 15-hectare (three acres of a 37­acre) unimproved landfill that was used from 1948 to 1960 for disposal of waste from the Middlesex Sampling Plant, located one kilometer (0.5 mile) to the south­southwest. In 1960, elevated gamma radiation levels attributable to contamination in the soil transported from the Middlesex Sampling Plant were detected on a portion of the Middlesex Municipal Landfill site; the Atomic Energy Commission removed approximately 496 cubic meters (650 cubic yards) of contaminated soil to the New Brunswick Laboratory in New Jersey. A church was constructed in 1963 on a two-hectare (five­acre) parcel of the former landfill property. Radiological surveys in 1974 and 1978 identified a contaminated area of approximately one hectare (three acres) bordering the church property; the primary contaminant was radium­226, with lesser amounts of uranium­238. The majority of the landfill site remains the property of the Borough of Middlesex.

The Middlesex Municipal Landfill site was included in FUSRAP in 1980. Cleanup of radioactive contamination at the Middlesex Municipal Landfill, which consisted of excavation of contaminated soil, was initiated in 1984 and completed in 1986. A total of 23,824 cubic meters (31,210 cubic yards) of waste was generated during remedial action and placed in interim storage at the Middlesex Sampling Plant.

New Mexico

Acid/Pueblo Canyons, Los Alamos, NM

The Acid/Pueblo Canyons site in Los Alamos, New Mexico, is a half-hectare (one­acre) area, bounded by a residential subdivision and the town of Los Alamos, where deep canyons were the discharge area for untreated radioactive liquid wastes from research. The site was the location of the TA­45 waste treatment plant and was owned by the War Department during the initial period of waste disposal. In 1947, control of the lands was transferred to the Atomic Energy Commission. After decontamination and decommissioning in 1966 and 1967, ownership of the treatment plant site, Acid Canyon, and the portion of Pueblo Canyon east of Acid Canyon was transferred to Los Alamos County.

The Department of Energy completed remediation of the radioactive contamination in 1982. A total of 298 cubic meters (390 cubic yards) of low­level radioactive waste was generated during remedial action; all contaminated materials were disposed of at Los Alamos National Laboratory Radioactive Waste Disposal Area G (T­54). A final certification docket certifying that the site was in compliance with applicable radiological guidelines was issued on August 28, 1984.

Bayo Canyon, Los Alamos, NM

The Bayo Canyon site in Los Alamos, New Mexico, is located in Los Alamos and Santa Fe counties and is bounded by Kwage Mesa to the south, Otowi Mesa to the north, and the Township of Los Alamos on the west. The Bayo Canyon site is a .6-hectare (1.5­acre) waste burial area 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Santa Fe and 99 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of Albuquerque where debris from decontamination and decommissioning of buildings, sewer facilities, and surface areas was disposed. The U.S. Government owned the site from 1943 to 1967 and originally used it for experiments involving conventional high explosives and radioactive sources in conjunction with nuclear weapons development. On July 1, 1967, the Atomic Energy Commission unsuccessfully attempted to transfer land for unconditional use, including the portion located in Santa Fe County, to the incorporated county of Los Alamos. The Department of Energy completed remediation of the radioactive contamination in 1982. It remediated a total of 1,160 cubic meters (1,520 cubic yards) of low-level waste and designated it to remain in situ.

Chupadera Mesa, White Sands Missile Range, NM

The Chupadera Mesa site is part of the fallout area from the first atomic bomb test conducted for the Manhattan Engineer District on July 16, 1945, at the White Sands Proving Grounds in New Mexico. The Chupadera Mesa area was and continues to be both privately and publicly owned. The area is used for raising cattle and producing alfalfa and row crops. Based on results of a radiological survey published in 1984, the Department of Energy determined that this site did not require radiological remedial action.

New York

Baker and Williams Warehouses, New York, NY

The Baker and Williams Warehouses site consists of three adjacent warehouse buildings on the west side of central New York City. During the early 1940s, these warehouses were used by the Manhattan Engineer District/Atomic Energy Commission for short­term storage of uranium concentrates produced in Port Hope, Canada, from African ores. The buildings are nine, seven, and eleven stories high. Each building has a basement, a total area of 828 square meters (9,200 square feet), and is constructed of fireproof materials including steel, concrete, asphalt, terra­cotta, and brick. A variety of materials, including paint, stucco, plaster, and a black foam material, covered the wall surfaces. With few exceptions, floors are currently used for storage.

Oak Ridge Associated Universities performed the designation survey in 1989 and detected residual radioactive material in excess of guidelines on the floor and lower walls of the east bay of the basement and on over 80 percent of the west bay first floor area in one of the three warehouses. The designated warehouse was remediated and verified in 1991, and the waste generated was shipped to Hanford for disposal. During the initial designation survey, the third warehouse was not accessible. When access was granted in 1991, the third warehouse was also found to contain residual radioactive material above guidelines. Cleanup of the third warehouse was completed in August 1992, and the wastes were shipped to Envirocare of Utah for disposal. The remedial action generated a total of 10 cubic meters (13 cubic yards) of low­level radioactive waste, which was disposed of at licensed out-of-state disposal facilities.

Niagara Falls Storage Site Vicinity Properties, Lewiston, NY

The Niagara Falls Storage Site is a Department of Energy facility located in Lewiston, New York, approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of Niagara Falls. It is currently used for storage of radioactive residues, soils, and rubble. The site is a remnant of the U.S. Army's original 3,036-hectare ( 7,500­acre) Lake Ontario Ordnance Works, portions of which were intended for use by the Army for TNT production early in World War II and later were used by the Manhattan Engineer District for storage and transshipment of radioactive materials. As a result of the storage operations, other portions of the former Lake Ontario Ordnance Works also became contaminated as some of the radioactive materials stored at the site migrated away from the storage locations, primarily through onsite or offsite drainage ditches, as the result of water and wind erosion. After the area of the site was reduced from 3,036 hectares (7,500 acres) to the 77 hectares (191 acres) currently occupied by the Niagara Falls Storage Site, radioactively contaminated areas adjacent to or near the site were referred to as the Niagara Falls Storage Site Vicinity Properties. a total of 38,168 cubic meters (50,000 cubic yards) of low-level waste, which was disposed of by placement in an engineered wast These 25 properties cover approximately 526 hectares (1,300 acres).

Remedial action for the Niagara Falls Storage Site Vicinity Properties, consisting of cleaning and restoring offsite drainage ditches and excavating contaminated soils and rubble, was completed in 1986. The cleanup generated e containment structure at the Niagara Falls Storage Site.

Ohio

Alba Craft, Oxford, OH

The Alba Craft site, located at 10­14 West Rose Avenue, Oxford, Ohio, was an operating machine shop where uranium slugs were machined. The former Alba Craft Laboratory facility was a U-shaped building (open on the south side), with a total area of approximately 630 to 720 square meters (7,000 to 8,000 square feet).

From 1952 to 1957, Alba Craft provided a variety of machine shop services on natural uranium metal for National Lead Company of Ohio (a primary Atomic Energy Commission contractor). Early work included general and developmental machining of threaded reactor fuel slugs for use at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site. Subsequent production-scale operations consisted of hollow drilling and turning of slugs for the Savannah River and Hanford reactors. During machining operations, equipment and portions of the building, grounds, and four vicinity properties became contaminated with low levels of radioactivity. After Atomic Energy Commission operations ended, the site was decontaminated to meet guidelines then in effect.

In 1992, radiological characterization revealed residual uranium contamination of the floor, roof support beams, and drains and in two isolated areas outdoors. Remedial action, which included decontamination and demolition of the laboratory building, decontamination at vicinity properties, and excavation of contaminated soil, was initiated in August 1994 and completed in February 1995. The cleanup generated a total of 2,394 cubic meters (3,136 cubic yards) of low-level radioactive waste, which was shipped to Envirocare of Utah for disposal.

Associate Aircraft, Fairfield, OH

The former Associate Aircraft Tool and Manufacturing Company facility, an operating machine shop with a total area of approximately 1,800 to 2,250 square meters (20,000 to 25,000 square feet), is located at 3660 Dixie Highway, Fairfield, Ohio, near Cincinnati. The building is a one-story masonry block structure where Associate Aircraft machined hollow uranium slugs for the Hanford and Savannah River reactors in 1956 under contract to the Atomic Energy Commission and National Lead Company of Ohio. Historical records note that the machining work was confined to one portion of the building; the portion of the site that was used in uranium operations has not been substantially remodeled. After the Atomic Energy Commission operations ended, the site was decontaminated to meet guidelines then in effect.

In June 1992, a radiological survey verified that uranium contamination was not present on the front portion of the property but indicated contamination in concrete expansion joints and on the upper surface of roof support beams. In September 1992, a radiological survey of the remainder of the property identified additional residual uranium indoors and limited contamination outside the building. Remedial action, including building decontamination; excavation of contaminated soil, drain lines, piping, and debris; and removal of lead­containing paint and asbestos floor tiles, was initiated in December 1994 and completed in May 1995. The cleanup generated a total waste volume of 125 cubic meters (164 cubic yards) (including 122 cubic meters [160 cubic yards] of low­level radioactive waste and 3 cubic meters [four cubic yards] of mixed waste), which was shipped to Envirocare of Utah for disposal.

HHM Safe Co., Hamilton, OH

The HHM Safe Co. building in Hamilton, Ohio, is a large rectangular building that was used intermittently in machining uranium slugs from uranium billets in the 1940s and 1950s under subcontract to DuPont and the University of Chicago in support of Manhattan Engineer District/Atomic Energy Commission work. In 1988 and 1989, radiological surveys verified that radioactive contamination had been removed from the first and second floors during previous decontamination efforts. However, a survey in 1993 identified areas of contamination above guidelines in portions of the flooring and walls in many areas on the third floor of the building. Remedial action, which consisted of building decontamination involving the third floor, including removal of sections of flooring containing lead anchor bolt sleeves, was initiated in December 1994 and completed in February 1995. The cleanup generated a total waste volume of 18 cubic meters (23 cubic yards) (including 15 cubic meters [20 cubic yards] of low­level radioactive waste and 2 cubic meters [3 cubic yards] of mixed waste), which was shipped to Envirocare of Utah for disposal.

Oregon

Albany Research Center, Albany, OR

The Albany Research Center site, located in Albany, Oregon, is an 18-hectare (45­acre) partially fenced area with 39 buildings where the U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted metallurgical operations involving natural radioactive materials between 1948 and 1978. The site is bounded on the north by Queen Avenue, on the west by Broadway Street, on the east by Liberty Street, and on the south by a tennis club. The Federal Government owns the buildings and the Albany Research Center controls them.

From 1948 to 1978, the Bureau of Mines conducted metallurgical research that involved melting, machining, welding, and alloying of uranium and thorium for the Atomic Energy Commission and the Energy Research and Development Administration; research on alloys of uranium and thorium began in 1955 under an Atomic Energy Commission contract. At various times during these operations, process buildings and surrounding areas were decontaminated to meet guidelines then in effect. A radiological assessment in 1978 and radiological characterization in 1984 indicated the need for additional site remediation.

Phase 1 of remedial action under FUSRAP, conducted in 1987 and 1988, included building decontamination, excavation, backfilling and seeding of excavated areas, and transportation of 2,290 cubic meters (3,000 cubic yards) of soil and rubble to the Department of Energy Hanford Reservation for disposal. During remedial action, workers found polyclorinated biphenyl contamination in an onsite lime pit formerly used to segregate heavy metals from waste residue. Additional areas of radioactive contamination exceeding guidelines (primarily in building areas not previously surveyed under FUSRAP) also were identified in 1988; these areas were remediated in 1990 and 1991 during Phase 2 of the cleanup. A total waste volume of 2,857 cubic meters (3,743 cubic yards), including 2,817 cubic meters (3,690 cubic yards) of low­level radioactive waste and 69 cubic meters (53 cubic yards) of mixed waste, was shipped to Hanford for disposal. A final certification docket certifying that the site is in compliance with applicable radiological guidelines was issued in April 1993.

Pennsylvania

Aliquippa Forge, Aliquippa, PA

The Aliquippa Forge site, located in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, is a 3-hectare (7.5­acre) site located just west of the Ohio River. It is bordered on the east by Beaver Avenue and on the south by First Street. In the late 1940s, the Atomic Energy Commission operated a rolling mill, two furnaces, and cutting and extruding equipment for converting uranium billets into rods at the site, which was owned by the Vulcan Crucible Steel Company during the Atomic Energy Commission contract period. In 1950, the site was decontaminated to meet guidelines then in effect. The current site owner is the Beaver County Corporation for Economic Development.

In 1978, a radiological survey identified radioactive contamination exceeding current guidelines on floors and walls of one of the onsite buildings, on overhead beams above furnaces formerly used to heat uranium billets, and beside the cooling basin outside the building. The site was included in FUSRAP in 1983. The Department of Energy characterized a portion of the site in 1986 and in 1988 it conducted an interim remedial action in the building where radioactive contamination had been identified. Wastes generated by this phase of remedial action were shipped to the Department of Energy Hanford facility for disposal. The Department of Energy erected a fence to enclose a portion of the remediated building and prevent access to areas where contamination exceeded applicable cleanup guidelines. The second phase of remedial action (including additional building decontamination and excavation of soil and concrete) was initiated in 1993 and completed in September 1994. The total volume of low-level radioactive waste remediated was 726 cubic meters (951 cubic yards). The total included 344 cubic meters (451 cubic yards) transported to Envirocare of Utah for disposal and 382 cubic meters (500 cubic yards) that was crushed and used as fill material onsite by agreement with state regulators.

C.H. Schnoor, Springdale, PA

The C.H. Schnoor site is located at 644 Garfield Street in Springdale, Pennsylvania. Records indicate that the same location was referred to as 643 Railroad Street in 1943, when C.H. Schnoor & Company began providing metal fabrication services in support of Manhattan Engineer District operations. The current owner is Conviber, Inc., a manufacturer of industrial conveyor belts. The site originally consisted of a concrete block building, where extruded uranium metal rods were machined during the 1940s to produce slugs used as feed material for production reactors, and a loading dock, where uranium spills may have occurred. The building was later enlarged, and a new loading dock was added.

In 1987, a radiological survey identified elevated radiation levels over a small area inside the building where uranium was machined. Additional surveys in 1989 and 1990 confirmed the presence of radioactive contamination in excess of guidelines beneath the building floor. Analysis of soil samples showed concentrations of uranium­238 ranging from 90 to 20,000 picocuries per gram. The analysis did not detect contamination outside the building. Remedial action, consisting of building decontamination and removal of concrete, was initiated in August 1994 and completed in September 1994. The total waste volume was 516 cubic meters (676 cubic yards). The total includes 478 cubic meters (626 cubic yards) transported to Envirocare of Utah for disposal and approximately 38 cubic meters (50 cubic yards) that was crushed and used as fill material onsite by agreement with state regulators.

Tennessee

Elza Gate, Oak Ridge, TN

The Elza Gate site originally consisted of five warehouses and other smaller structures used by the Manhattan Engineer District to store pitchblende and processed residues generated in work related to the Manhattan Project. None of the original structures remain; the one existing onsite building was erected on one of the concrete pads remaining after dismantlement of the original buildings. Department of Energy predecessor agencies later used the site to store electrical equipment. Jet Air, Inc. also used the site as a metal-plating facility. In 1988, the property was sold to a development company that plans to develop the site as an industrial park.

Elza Gate was included in FUSRAP in 1988, and the Department of Energy conducted site characterization in 1989 and 1990. Radiological and chemical characterization identified elevated levels of radium­226, uranium­238, lead, and polychlorinated biphenyls in site soils. Site cleanup was completed in phases. The first phase, which involved removal of the radioactively contaminated concrete floor and subsoil from the onsite building, was completed in the spring of 1991 with temporary onsite storage of contaminated soil and concrete rubble. The second phase, which consisted of removing all remaining contaminated material from exterior locations, was completed in 1992. A total volume of 5,916 cubic meters (7,750 cubic yards) of FUSRAP waste containing byproduct material was remediated. Polychlorinated biphenyl­contaminated soil was transported to a commercial facility for disposal, and the remaining material was transported to the Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation for storage.