Latty Avenue Properties

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The Latty Avenue Properties site in northern St. Louis County includes three areas: (1) the Hazelwood Interim Storage Site, (2) the Futura Coatings site and (3) six vicinity properties. The Hazelwood and Futura sites cover approximately 5 hectares (12 acres); the six vicinity properties cover approximately 25 hectares (60 acres).

FACILITY MISSION

Soils at the Latty Avenue Properties contain "byproduct" material known as 11(e)2 (defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as amended by the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978) low-level radioactive contamination [estimated at 161,400 cubic meters (211,000 cubic yards)] that originated from residues stored at the site from processing high­grade uranium ore at the nearby St. Louis Downtown Site from 1942 through 1957. Mallinckrodt Chemical Works conducted uranium processing operations under contracts with the Manhattan Engineer District and the Atomic Energy Commission. Mallinckrodt transported process residues to the St. Louis Airport Site for storage until the Commercial Discount Corporation of Chicago purchased them in 1967; Commercial Discount transported the residues to the Latty Avenue Properties for storage and processing. This material was sold to the Cotter Corporation in 1969 and was dried and shipped to their facilities in Canon City, Colorado. By 1974, most of the material had been sold and removed from the Latty Avenue Properties, leaving only residual contamination. The Jarboe Realty and Investment Company currently owns this property. Futura Coatings, Inc., which manufactures plastic coatings, leases the western half of the property; the Department of Energy leases the eastern half. The Department of Energy's present objective at the site is to eliminate or reduce the potential for exposure to radioactive and chemical contaminants. Congress assigned the site to the Department of Energy in 1984 as part of FUSRAP. It is included on the Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List.

FUTURE USE

Metropolitan St. Louis is a diverse hub of transportation, commerce, and industry. Land use within 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) of the site includes a variety of public, agricultural, industrial, commercial, and residential activities. No decisions have been made regarding the use of the land after site cleanup.

Future use of the Latty Avenue Properties depends on the Record of Decision that will document the remedial action alternative selected for implementation, with input from the Environmental Protection Agency, state and local agencies, and stakeholders. This report assumes that environmental restoration activities will be completed within the next one to two decades. The cost estimate assumes Industrial/Commercial use of these properties after remediation.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION

This report assumes that environmental restoration of the Latty Avenue Properties will include disposition of approximately 161,400 cubic meters (211,000 cubic yards) of contaminated soils. It assumes that the Department of Energy will conduct the cleanup under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act protocol for remediation of low-level radioactive contamination at FUSRAP sites and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. Because the site is on the National Priorities List, a Federal Facilities Agreement negotiated between the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency incorporates procedural and documentation requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and establishes the respective roles of each agency during site remediation. As required under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, the applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements of federal and state laws are incorporated in the development of remediation goals for the site. Key regulators include Environmental Protection Agency Region VII, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and local governments as appropriate. Other regulatory drivers include the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.

The ultimate schedule and scope of the cleanup depends on a Record of Decision, which this estimate assumes will be issued in 1997.

ASSESSMENT

Radiological and chemical characterization and scoping activities at the Latty Avenue Properties have included surface and subsurface investigations, walkover gamma surveys, and sampling and monitoring of environmental media (surface and subsurface soil, sediment, surface water, ground water, and air). Characterization and surveys in 1981 and 1986 revealed elevated concentrations of uranium­238, radium­226, thorium­230, and thorium­232 in the larger storage pile at the Hazelwood Interim Storage Site. Levels of these contaminants in soil exceed Department of Energy guidelines over most of the property. Soil contamination was detected to a depth of 1.8 meters (6 feet); the average depth was approximately 1 meter (3 feet). The volume of contaminated soil at the Hazelwood Interim Storage site, including the storage piles, is 53,520 cubic meters (70,000 cubic yards). The principal radioactive soil contaminant at Futura Coatings was thorium­230, although radium­226, uranium­238, and thorium­232 were detected at elevated levels. Sampling analysis detected contamination at depths ranging from the surface to greater than 4.6 meters (15 feet). The volume of contaminated soil at Futura is approximately 26,000 cubic meters (34,000 cubic yards). Several metals were also detected at the Hazelwood Interim Storage site and Futura at levels above background. No Resource Conservation and Recovery Act hazardous waste was detected.

Surveys also detected radioactive contamination (primarily thorium­230) in soil on all six Latty Avenue vicinity properties. Depths of contamination range from the surface to 4.3 meters (14 feet) at one location on Property 1, but contamination is typically confined to the top 1 meter (3 feet) of soil. In general, the areas of contamination decrease in size and number with increasing distance from the Hazelwood Interim Storage Site and Latty Avenue.

Assessments of contamination are documented as required by the regulatory process. In addition to the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study­Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision for the St. Louis sites, environmental documentation for the Latty Avenue Properties includes a site designation report, a notice of intent, planning documents (work plan, field sampling and analysis plan, quality assurance plan, and community relations plan), characterization reports, and annual site environmental surveillance reports.

The primary contaminants (uranium­238, radium­226, thorium­230, and thorium­232) are found at elevated levels in soils that are being stored in two interim storage piles until a permanent disposal alternative for the piles and other onsite soils is selected. The storage piles resulted from partial cleanup activities at the site in 1977 and 1985 and during installation of a municipal storm sewer system along Latty Avenue in 1986. Several metals have also been detected in site soil at concentrations above background. Analyses for semivolatile organic compounds did not identify any compounds on the Hazardous Substances List.

The potential for contaminant transport results from surface runoff, flooding, and road and utility line activities. Contaminant levels are above criteria within the site boundaries, along the road beyond Latty Avenue, and at properties adjacent to the Hazelwood Interim Storage site. Existing sources of contamination present no significant health risks to workers or the public under current site-use and land-use conditions. Air is the only potential exposure pathway that could substantially contribute to the population dose, and radionuclide concentrations at air sampling locations are essentially equivalent to background levels. Because no domestic wells are currently in use within two to three miles of the site, ground water and surface water are not credible exposure pathways.

REMEDIAL ACTION

Several removal actions have been conducted at the Latty Avenue Properties since 1984, when the Department of Energy was authorized to remediate the site under FUSRAP. In 1984, the Department of Energy cleared the site, selected adjacent properties, constructed a decontamination facility, installed the perimeter fence, excavated and backfilled the edges and shoulders of Latty Avenue, and consolidated and covered the contaminated storage pile. These activities generated approximately 1,070 cubic meters (1,400 cubic yards) of contaminated soil (low-level waste). In 1985, the Department of Energy conducted cleanup activities at Latty Avenue, conducted radiological surveys, tested materials, and installed monitoring wells, adding approximately 75 cubic meters (100 cubic yards) of contaminated soil to the storage pile. In 1986, installation of a storm sewer along Latty Avenue to improve the municipal drainage added another 3,520 cubic meters (4,600 cubic yards) of contaminated soils (low-level waste).

The Department will initiate interim removal actions as needed to address contamination on any portion of the Latty Avenue Properties before finalizing the Record of Decision. It will document environmental impacts in an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis report and a categorical exclusion report. It will develop a design basis document to govern the requirements for the scope of work associated with final remedial action. This report assumes that site­specific remedial action will include civil survey, material testing, excavation, and backfill and miscellaneous services such as water treatment, fence repair, maintenance, trailer setup, mobilization and demobilization of equipment, handling of contaminated material, janitorial services, and health physics and analytical laboratory services. The estimate assumes that waste generated during remedial action will be transported via truck to the St. Louis Airport Site.

The scenario used for the Baseline Environmental Management Report cost estimate for the St. Louis sites assumes excavation of accessible soils from the St. Louis Downtown Site, vicinity properties in the downtown and airport areas, the Latty Avenue Properties, and Coldwater Creek sediments and consolidation and capping at the St. Louis Airport Site. The cost estimate assumes a total waste volume of 161,400 cubic meters (211,000 cubic yards) at the Latty Avenue Properties.

Surveillance programs are in place to monitor the potential spread of contamination. The environmental surveillance program includes monitoring of radon gas and external gamma radiation in air; sampling surface water, sediment, and ground water for thorium­230, radium­226, and total uranium; and sampling ground water for parameters that are indicators of ground-water quality. Annual radon flux measurements are taken on the surfaces of the storage piles at the Hazelwood Interim Storage Site. As required under the site National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, stormwater runoff leaving the site is monitored quarterly for various radiological and chemical parameters and monthly for settleable solids. Rainfall and flow rates are measured daily. Since 1984, environmental surveillance data have consistently indicated that the site is making no significant contribution to offsite radioactivity. Environmental monitoring results for the Hazelwood Interim Storage Site indicate that external gamma radiation exposure rates have decreased sharply since 1984 at most monitoring locations; overall radon concentrations have remained basically stable since 1984; concentrations of uranium, radium­226, and thorium­230 in surface water have been stable since 1985; and concentrations of radionuclides in ground water have changed little since 1985. The surveillance program, as well as monitoring of air, surface water, ground water, and external gamma radiation, will continue throughout remedial action and construction, which is tentatively scheduled for FY 2006.

FUNDING ESTIMATE

The following table presents estimated funding information for the Latty Avenue Properties.