The first ton of radioactive dirt will be removed from the nuclear waste dump in Parks this summer as a long-awaited cleanup by the Army Corps of Engineers starts.
The removal of 50,000 tons of contaminated soil at what is officially known as the Shallow Land Disposal Area is part of a planned 3-year, $76 million cleanup of two former nuclear fuel plants in Apollo and Parks that operated from 1957 to mid-1980s.
The plants, owned by the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corp. and later the Atlantic Richfield Co. and Babcock & Wilcox, produced nuclear fuel for submarines and power plants as well as a range of nuclear products for the government and others.
Bill Lenart, project manager for the Army Corps of Engineers in Pittsburgh, said a $5 million grant from federal stimulus money and $12 million from the Corps general budget will pay for the project this year.
However, experts aren't sure what the Corps will find in 10 burial trenches.
A log of what NUMEC buried at the 44-acre site from the late 1950s to 1970 includes barrels filled with chemicals and nuclear-contaminated items such as workers' clothing and a truck.
However, site studies suggest that the contents have decomposed into a mysterious brew of uranium- and chemical-contaminated soils.
The Corps will excavate the trenches, ranging from 12 to 16 feet deep, in one-foot segments.
The work will start with the two smallest burial pits, No. 3 with about 200 cubic yards of waste and No. 9 with about 2,100 cubic yards of waste, Lenart said. The primary contaminants in those two trenches are uranium and thorium.
"The first thing we'll do is have a scan over the site with a meter go over the surface area," said Lenart. "Then we will take physical samples and identify them to give us more of an idea of what the material is," he said.
The soil will be taken to a soon-to-be constructed, 150- by-400-foot sealed building. The waste will be taken to Energy Solutions in Clive, Utah, for disposal.
Officials said water from the trenches and nearby ground will be piped to a new water treatment plant on the B&W site, which will discharge the treated water to the Kiski River.
Jeff Hawk, Corps spokesman in Pittsburgh, said the treated water will meet government standards.
Lenart said the Corps will follow state laws governing water disposal and will make test results available to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Construction of the buildings and a new access road will begin early this year, with excavation of the first trench planned for July and August.
The Corps will hold a public meeting to provide details of the cleanup, Hawk said.
Leechburg environmental activist Patty Ameno said she looks forward to the meeting and plans on raising several questions, including about dumping water into the Kiski River.
"I don't care what kind of dress they put on that prostitute," Ameno said. "It's still a dangerous site with many unknowns that have not been addressed in totality."
Additional Information:Legacy costs
Legacy costs
The two nuclear fuel facilities in Armstrong County spawned millions of dollars in payments for lawsuits and cleanups:
⢠The Army Corps of Engineers expects to spend $76 million in a cleanup in Parks.
⢠The razing and cleanup of the Apollo plant cost about $70 million in the 1990s.
⢠The removal of radioactive contaminated ash at the Kiski Valley Water Pollution Control Authority cost almost $4 million.
⢠Recently, ARCO and Babcock & Wilcox paid an $80 million settlement to residents who alleged that radioactive emissions from the nuclear plants caused death, illnesses and property damages. In 1988, a federal court awarded $36.7 million to eight Apollo-area residents for similar claims.
