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U.S.
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The St. Louis Airport Site is located in St. Louis County, Missouri,
approximately 25 kilometers (15 miles) from downtown St. Louis. The
site lies immediately north of the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
and is bordered by the Norfolk and Western Railroad and Banshee Road on the
south, Coldwater Creek on the west, and McDonnell Boulevard and adjacent
recreational fields on the north and east. The site consists of approximately
8.8 hectares (21.7 acres).
LOCALITY MAP
SITE MAP
Estimated Site Total
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(Thousands of Current Year Dollars)
|
| |
|
|
|
| Environmental Restoration
|
1,941
|
1,939
|
3,023
|
3,368
|
3,328
|
Grey shaded area reflects annual cost
estimates for the first five years of the site BEMR Base Case (as of October
1995) and includes 3% annual inflation, see Readers' Guide.
|
| 1996 Appropriation
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1,761
|
|
|
These levels reflect the current estimates for
compliance with applicable statutes and agreements (as of March 1996), see
Readers' Guide.
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| 1997 Congressional Request
|
|
1,298
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|
|
| (Five-Year Averages, Thousands of Constant 1996
Dollars)
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| |
2025
|
2030
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| Environmental Restoration
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2,542
|
3,901
|
12,117
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26,367
|
3,838
|
|
|
243,825
|
| * Total Life Cycle is the sum of the annual costs in
constant FY 1996 dollars.
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FACILITY MISSION
Low-level radioactive contamination at the St. Louis Airport Site originated
primarily from residues resulting from processing high-grade uranium ore. The
total volume is estimated at 191,250 cubic meters (250,000 cubic yards) of
11(e)2 waste "byproduct" material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act and
amended by the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978. In 1946,
the Manhattan Engineer District and Atomic Energy Commission acquired the
8.8-hectare (21.7acre) tract to store residues resulting from the
processing of uranium ores at a facility in downtown St. Louis. Uranium
processing continued through the late 1950s. Most of the residues were stored
in bulk on open ground. Some contaminated materials and scrap were buried at
the western end of the Site and in other onsite locations. In 1966 and 1967,
most of the stored residues were sold and removed. On site structures were
demolished, buried onsite, and covered with 0.3 to 0.9 meters (1 to
3 feet) of clean fill. Although these activities reduced the surface dose
rates to acceptable levels, buried deposits of uranium238, radium226,
and thorium230 remained onsite. The St. Louis Airport Site is on the
Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List. The Department's
present objective at the site is to eliminate or reduce the potential for
exposure to radioactive and chemical contaminants.
FUTURE USE
In 1973, the St. Louis Airport Site was transferred by quitclaim deed from the
Atomic Energy Commission to the City of St. Louis, at the city's request.
The 1985 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act authorized the
Department of Energy to reacquire the property from the city for use as a
permanent disposal site for onsite waste, contaminated soil in the ditches
surrounding the site, and waste from the Latty Avenue Properties approximately
0.3 kilometer (1 mile) to the north. A decision on future use of the site
depends on the Record of Decision that will document the remedial action
alternative selected for implementation. The Record of Decision will involve
input from the Environmental Protection Agency, state and local agencies, and
stakeholders. The cost estimate assumes permanent disposal at the St. Louis
Airport Site and continued Department of Energy institutional control of the
site. Access would remain controlled.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION
Environmental restoration of the St. Louis Airport Site is expected to include
either onsite or offsite stabilization of approximately 191,250 cubic meters
(250,000 cubic yards) of contaminated soils. Cleanup will be conducted
under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
protocol for remediation of lowlevel 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 and the Environmental Protection Agency incorporates procedural and
documentation requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act and establishes the roles of each agency during
site remediation. As required by the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act, the development of remediation goals for the
site includes the applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements of
federal and state laws.
Key regulators include Environmental Protection Agency Region VII, the
St. Louis Airport Authority, the City of St. Louis, 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 schedule for final
cleanup depends on the issuance of a Record of Decision and funding.
Major Environmental Restoration Activity Milestones
| Assessment (Record of Decision)
|
1997
|
|
Remedial Action
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2020
|
|
Transfer Site to Grand Junction Projects Office Long-Term Surveillance and
Monitoring Program
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2021
|
ASSESSMENT
Field investigations for the St. Louis Airport Site included radiological
characterization along the haul routes and vicinity properties throughout the
1980s; radiological, chemical, geological, and hydrological characterization in
1987 to determine the vertical and horizontal limits of contamination; and
scoping activities, including surface and subsurface investigations, walkover
surveys to detect gamma radiation, and sampling and monitoring of environmental
media (surface and subsurface soil, sediment, surface water, ground water, and
air).
The primary contaminants found in soil at the St. Louis Airport Site
(uranium238, radium226, thorium230, and thorium232) were
detected at levels exceeding current guidelines over the entire ground surface
to depths as great as 5.5 meters (18 feet). The volume of
contaminated soil at the St. Louis Airport Site is 191,000 cubic meters
(250,000 cubic yards). Fifteen metals, mostly confined to near-surface
depths, were also detected in site soils at levels above background; only
magnesium, cadmium, and cobalt were detected beneath the maximum depths of
radioactive contamination. Investigations detected no Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act hazardous waste.
Environmental monitoring results for the St. Louis Airport Site indicate that
radon levels and measured concentrations of radionuclides in surface water have
remained low and relatively constant since monitoring began in 1984. External
gamma radiation exposure rates, measured at nine locations, have exceeded
background readings at only one location since 1989. Ground water has shown
relatively stable levels of radium226 and thorium230, although
uranium levels have fluctuated and have exceeded guidelines in several
monitoring wells. Ground-water characterization indicated elevated levels of
radionuclides near pockets of buried radioactive residues. Other nearby wells
showed substantially lower radionuclide concentrations.
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 St. Louis Airport
Site 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.
Ground water is a potential contaminant transport pathway. Many of the metals
detected in soil were also found in ground water, indicating that metals
present in the original uranium ore had leached into the ground water. However,
because the site is fenced, the public has no access to wells in the area, and
there is no known consumption of ground water in the vicinity of the site, the
risk to human health is limited. Surface water runoff is another possible route
for contaminant transport; surface runoff from the site has been found in
nearby ditches and streams.
The environmental surveillance program that is in place to check the potential
spread of contamination will be maintained at the site to measure radon
concentrations in air; radium, thorium, and uranium concentrations in surface
water and ground water; and external gamma radiation intensity. Since 1984,
environmental surveillance data have consistently indicated that the St. Louis
Airport Site is making no significant contribution to offsite radioactivity.
Potential exposure pathways include ingestion and inhalation; however, based on
measured radon concentrations, the onsite radon source has a minimal effect on
radon concentrations in the area. No immediate health risks to workers and the
public are associated with existing sources of contamination under current
site-use and land-use conditions. Within a half mile of the property, more than
twothirds of the land is used for transportation-related purposes because
of its proximity to the airport; the remaining land is used primarily for
commercial activities.
REMEDIAL ACTION
A removal action was conducted at the St. Louis Airport Site in 1985, when
gully erosion occurred in the western portion of the Site along Coldwater Creek
and necessitated emergency maintenance. Sloughing and seepage were causing
erosion of contaminated fill and material into the creek. Construction
activities to combat the erosion problem were completed within a sevenweek
period.
Maintenance and surveillance activities (including environmental monitoring)
are the only activities currently taking place at the St. Louis Airport Site. A
proposed cleanup alternative has been withdrawn, and the Federal Facility
Agreement milestone for issuance of a Record of Decision has been extended. A
complex variety of factors has been identified for consideration in defining a
preferred remedy in its entirety. The remedy selection process is likely to
involve developing a combination of several approaches, including volume
reduction through treatment, as well as local consolidation and containment,
remote disposal of selected wastes, and institutional controls. Interim removal
actions will be initiated as needed to address contamination on any portion of
the St. Louis Airport Site before finalization of the Record of Decision, and
environmental impacts will be documented in an Engineering Evaluation/Cost
Analysis report and a categorical exclusion report.
The lowest-cost protective cleanup option includes excavating all accessible
soils and sediments contaminated above guidelines at St. Louis Airport Site,
St. Louis Airport Site Vicinity Properties, St. Louis Downtown Site and
vicinity properties, the Latty Avenue Properties, the ball fields, and
Coldwater Creek; this option also includes consolidating all waste in an on
site disposal cell to be constructed at St. Louis Airport Site. ("Accessible"
soils are those that can be excavated without the significant additional costs
of removing major onsite infrastructure, such as large buildings, roads, and
railroads). The highest cost is associated with the "complete excavation and
offsite disposal" option, which includes excavating all soils (both accessible
and inaccessible) contaminated above guidelines and disposing of them at an
existing out-of-state commercial disposal facility.
The scenario used for the Baseline Environmental Management Report cost
estimate for the St. Louis sites assumes excavation of accessible
contaminated soils and sediments from St. Louis Downtown Site, vicinity
properties in the downtown and airport areas, the Latty Avenue Properties, and
Coldwater Creek, with consolidation and capping at St. Louis Airport Site. The
cost estimate assumes a total waste volume of 191,250 cubic meters
(250,000 cubic yards) at St. Louis Airport Site and the addition of
approximately 500,000 cubic meters (655,000 cubic yards) of waste
from St. Louis Airport Site Vicinity Properties, St. Louis Downtown Site, and
the Latty Avenue Properties. Design and construction of the waste disposal cell
at St. Louis Airport Site would begin after the Record of Decision is signed in
1997. The waste soils from the other St. Louis sites would be transported
to St. Louis Airport Site and added to the disposal cell as they are excavated
from their current locations. Construction of a disposal cell at St. Louis
Airport site will require that the Department of Energy exercise its authority
to reacquire the St. Louis Airport Site property from the City of
St. Louis. Responsibility for longterm surveillance and monitoring
will be transferred to the Grand Junction Projects Office Long-Term
Surveillance and Monitoring Program in FY 2021.
Surveillance programs are in place to check the potential spread of
contamination. An environmental surveillance program will be maintained at the
site to measure radon concentrations in air; radium, thorium, and uranium
concentrations in surface water and ground water; and external gamma radiation
intensity. Since 1984, environmental surveillance data have consistently
indicated that the site is making no significant contribution to offsite
radioactivity.
Environmental Restoration Activities Cost Estimate
| (Five-Year Averages, Thousands of Constant 1996
Dollars)
|
| |
2025
|
2030
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| FUSRAP - St. Louis Airport Site
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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| Assessment
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40
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
200
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| Remedial Action
|
2,502
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3,901
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12,117
|
26,367
|
3,838
|
|
|
243,625
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| Total
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2,542
|
3,901
|
12,117
|
26,367
|
3,838
|
|
|
243,825
|
| * Total Life Cycle is the sum of the annual costs in
constant FY 1996 dollars.
|
FUNDING ESTIMATE
The following table presents estimated funding information for the St. Louis
Airport Site.
Nondefense Funding Estimate
| (Five-Year Averages, Thousands of Constant 1996
Dollars)
|
| |
2025
|
2030
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| Environmental Restoration
|
2,542
|
3,901
|
12,117
|
26,367
|
3,838
|
|
|
243,825
|
| * Total Life Cycle is the sum of the annual costs in
constant FY 1996 dollars.
|
|
 |
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