Pollution Report Profile - EPA OSC Response

Burns AFB Asbestos Removal
Burns, OR - EPA Region X
POLREP #4 - Progress

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On-Scene Coordinator - Michael Szerlog	7/9/2004
Time-Critical - Removal Action	Pollution Report (POLREP) #4
Start Date: 6/11/2004

Site Description
See POLREP #1

Current Activities
***Tuesday, June 29, 2004: (1-OSC, 2-PST, 2-START, 9-ERRS, 8-Cascade Abatement, 1-Advantage).  Abatement subcontractor continued abatement of friable ACM and ACM floor tile from 204.  ERRS began to load non-ACM demolition debris for disposal at the local landfill.  ERRS also began to perform final cleaning around demolished buildings by consolidating debris piles and by picking up loose pieces of ACM debris on the ground.  ERRS and the abatement contractor wrapped and removed ACM steam pipe from building 220 (currently FAA property) and ACM steam pipe from the site that had been dumped on BLM property.  Frank Messina of Oregon DEQ visited the site.  START-2 continued perimeter and area air sampling, and USCG PST continued site safety and medical monitoring.  Site work stopped at 16:30 because of lightning and thunderstorms.

***Wednesday, June 30, 2004: (2-OSC, 2-PST, 2-START, 9-ERRS, 8-Cascade Abatement, 1-Advantage).  Abatement subcontractor finished abatement of 204.  START and Advantage visually inspected the abated 204 and then performed clearance air sampling.  Abatement subcontractor also abated ACM floor tile from building 133.  ERRS continued to load non-ACM demolition debris and continued final cleaning around demolished buildings.  ERRS also excavated additional PCB-contaminated soils from 200.  OSC Andy Smith arrived on site, and Dave Anderson of Oregon DEQ visited the site.  Andy Smith, ERU Health and Safety OSC, conducted an internal Health and Safety audid. START investigated a potential radiation source - a metal door from 165 that had a radiation warning label.  The results were less than 0.1 millirem per hour (mR/hr), which was comparable to background results.  START continued perimeter and area air sampling and performed immunoassay field testing for PCBs on soil samples from excavated areas of 200, 133 and 206.  USCG PST continued site safety and medical monitoring.  A metal scrapper (Wurdinger Recycling) mobilized a trailer-mounted metal crushing unit to the site.  Site work stopped at 17:00 because of lightning and thunderstorms.

***Thursday, July 1, 2004: (1-OSC, 2-PST, 2-START, 9-ERRS, 8-Cascade Abatement, 1-Advantage, 2-Wurdinger Recycling).  Advantage analyzed the clearance samples from 204, which were less than the clearance limit, indicating that the abatement was successful.  ERRS and the abatement subcontractor wrapped and removed the remaining sections of ACM steam pie that were located at building 204.  ERRS excavated additional PCB-contaminated soil from 200, and then loaded PCB-contaminated steel and soil into trucks for off-site transportation and disposal.  ERRS continued to load non-ACM demolition debris and continued final cleaning around demolished buildings.  Wurdinger Recycling began to crush metal scrap for off-site transportation and recycling.  START collected additional samples from excavated 200bottom of 200 excavation, and sends these and other samples to Severn Trent for PCB analyses.  START continued to perform ambient air monitoring.  OSC Szerlog, Advantage, USCG PST, and START Hall demobilized from the site.

***Friday, July 2, 2004: (1-OSC, 1-START, 9-ERRS, -Cascade Abatement, 2-Wurdinger Recycling).  Abatement subcontractor cleared and removed ACM debris from around site buildings.  ERRS covered and secured remaining PCB-contaminated soil and debris piles at 200, 133, and 206.  ERRS also consolidated scrap metal piles for scrapper and covered manholes and other physical hazards.  Wurdinger continued metal crushing for off-site transportation and recycling.  ERRS demobilized one of the command post trailers and staged loaded roll-off boxes (2 with friable ACM and 2 with ACM debris) for later off-site transportation.  OSC and START marked slabs and foundations with building numbers for future identification.  START performed ambient air monitoring and documented (notes and photographs) the final condition of the site.  Abatement subcontractor, ERRS, and OSC Smith demobilized from the site.

***Saturday, July 3, 2004.  (1-START, 2-Wurdinger Recycling).  Wurdinger continued metal crushing and recovery.  START completed the marking of building foundations and site documentation (including photographs) of final site condition.  START demobilized from the site.

Planned Removal Actions
EPA has completed the abatement of friable ACM and the loading of ACM wastes for off-site disposal. EPA also disposed of some PCB-contaminated soil and scrap metal from the site.

DEQ plans to mobilize to the site later in the summer to remove the remaining buildings on site. EPA may mobilize with DEQ to address the remaining PCB-contaminated wastes. Currently the soils are covered and the area secured with orange safety fence and with PCB warning signs.

Next Steps
Metal recycling and demobilization of equipment and wastes will continue at the site until completed. Analytical results from soil samples collected from excavated areas will be evaluated to determine the need to perform additional removal work of PCB-contaminated soils.

Key Issues
- During the week of June 29, site work often had to be stopped because of afternoon lightning and thunderstorms.
- Metal scrapping operations started later than expected at the site, because of difficulties locating a metal scrapper that was able to meet the project schedule.
- Only two loads of PCB-contaminated soil and metal were transported off-site, because of delays with the transportation company and because of haz-mat shipping restrictions on the July 4th holiday weekend.
- A suspected radation source was found in the form of a metal trap door that was marked with a radiation warning label.  A survey of the debris with a radiation meter indicated no residual radiation.
- While performing metal scrapping operations, the metal crusher had a hydraulic fluid leak to the concrete slab of building 130. ERRS and the recycling company cleaned up the spill.
- PCB-contaminated soil and metal remain at the site, in part because of transportation difficulties and in part because of greater than expected volumes.  EPA will evaluate the project budgets and analytical data to determine the need to perform additional removal work at the site.

Disposition Of Wastes
To date, four waste streams have been transported off site for disposal. The waste streams include asbestos-containing material (ACM) demolition debris, friable ACM, clean demolition debris, and PCB-contaminated soil and metal. Total estimated quantities for these waste streams are provided below.

Waste Stream	Quantity	Manifest #	Disposal Facility
ACM Debris (floor tile and CAB siding)	16 loads with a total estimated weight of 750,000 pounds	N/A	Columbia Ridge Landfill, Arlington, Oregon
Friable ACM	4 loads of 20 cubic yards each, for a total of 80 cubic yards	N/A	Finley Butte Landfill, Boardman, Oregon
Clean Demolition Debris	21 loads with an estimated total of 360 cubic yards	N/A	Harney County Landfill, Burns, Oregon
PCB-Contaminated Soil and Metal	2 loads with an estimated total of 36 cubic yards	N/A	US Ecology Landfill, Grand View, Idaho