NAVAL AIR STATION PENSACOLA

Site 1 or OU 1, is an inactive sanitary landfill encompassing approximately 85 acres. The landfill surface varies from 8 to 20 feet above mean sea level and is densely vegetated with 15- to 40-foot tall planted pines and natural scrub vegetation. During the early 1950s and until the official closing October 1, 1976, a variety of domestic and industrial wastes generated from NAS Pensacola and other outlying Navy facilities were disposed at Site 1.

The North Chevalier Field Disposal Area, Site 11 (OU 2), is a former landfill where industrial and municipal wastes were disposed and burned from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s. The area occupies approximately 20 acres southwest of an extension of Bayou Grande called the Yacht Basin. Surface elevations on the site are approximately 5 feet above mean sea level and topography slopes gently eastward toward Bayou Grande. Two prefabricated buildings — Buildings 3627 and 3628 — are near the center of the site. Building 3445, at the site’s southeastern corner, is used to store outdated office equipment. A fenced area north and south of Buildings 3445 is used for outside storage of boats, trucks, and heavy equipment. This site is a former landfill that received industrial waste and oils, including hazardous waste.

The OU 2 ROD was completed on September 29, 2008. Ongoing activities at the site include remedy implementation including excavation of soils with Chemicals of Concern (COCs) that exceed chemical and/or radiological cleanup levels, quarterly groundwater sampling for Monitored Natural Attenuation, and completion of a Groundwater to Surface Water Interface investigation.

Site 12 is part of OU 2 and is located approximately 800 feet northwest of Chevalier Field and 600 feet west of PSC 11. Most of the site area is enclosed by a fence and covered with a large concrete pad where heavy equipment is currently kept. From the early 1930s to mid-1940s, garbage from NAS Pensacola was placed in scrap bins and stored in this area (industrial waste was sent to the North Chevalier Disposal Area). Approximately 16 cubic yards (2 truckloads) per day of wet garbage was stored before being hauled off and used as livestock feed.

The OU 2 ROD was completed on September 29, 2008. Ongoing activities at the site include remedy implementation including excavation of soils with COCs that exceed chemical and radiological cleanup levels and quarterly groundwater sampling for Monitored Natural Attenuation.

Site 25 is located on the eastern portion of NAS Pensacola just east of Murray Road and north of Farrar Road on the east side of Building 780. Naval Energy and Environmental (NEESA) (1983) reported a small spill of low-level radioactive waste containing radium at this site in 1978. The spill occurred on pavement and was properly cleaned up according to NEESA. The spill occurred because drums of waste were being stored outside and allowed to corrode and leak. Building 780 was the location of radium removal operations for radium dials and other equipment. The equipment was decontaminated in the site location before being repainted in the radium dial shop (former Building 780). Contamination resulting from the spill or waste handling was the focus of the spill investigation.

The OU 2 ROD was completed on September 29, 2008. Ongoing activities at the site include remedy implementation including excavation of soils with COCs that exceed chemical and radiological cleanup levels and quarterly groundwater sampling for Monitored Natural Attenuation.

Site 26 is a 90 square foot outside area, south of Building 684, used to store containers of industrial materials. Containers were stored on steel mats. Leakage is reported to have occurred from these containers. Because Site 11 is down gradient from the area of Site 26, investigations were conducted as part of OU 2.

The OU 2 ROD was completed on September 29, 2008. Ongoing activities at the site include remedy implementation including excavation of soils with COCs that exceed chemical and radiological cleanup levels and quarterly groundwater sampling for Monitored Natural Attenuation.

From 1940s to 1975, Building 709 was used to rework instrument dials painted with paint containing radium. Spent cleaning solutions and luminous paint were routinely poured into the sanitary sewer system. In 1976, the building was dismantled and the drain pipe was found to have a reading of 1.2 millirem per hour (mR/hr). The drain pipe was removed to a depth of 18 inches. The remaining lateral underground portion of the pipe was capped and covered with concrete. In 1975, all activities related to radium painted instruments, including stripping and re-painting, were permanently moved to Building 780. Instrument dials were stripped using paint thinner, then soaked in a lye and nitric acid solution. Contaminated instrument cases were processed by soaking in a "turco" acid solution. Components were cleaned with a wire brush to remove all residues. All operations related to the radium dials are no longer completed at the facility. It is believed that the operations were discontinued in approximately 1995 when Naval Aviation Depot operations were discontinued.

The OU 2 ROD was completed on September 29, 2008. Ongoing activities at the site include remedy implementation including excavation of soils with COCs that exceed chemical and radiological cleanup levels and quarterly groundwater sampling for Monitored Natural Attenuation.

Over a 15 year period north of Building 648, waste paint, thinner, and paint sludge were poured onto the ground in the area of Site 30. A monitoring well located near the site indicated the presence of low concentrations of chlorinated hydrocarbons; however, analysis of additional samples did not detect Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compounds (CVOCs). The exact location of the disposal site in relation to the monitoring well is not reported. On October, 14 1992, the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Program transferred 647N and 648N, which are at Site 31, to the Installation Restoration Program. Building 755 operated 50 tanks located inside this building over a 10 year period as a plating facility for nickel, lead, tin, chromium, and miscellaneous metals. These tanks, ranging in capacity from 50 to 200 gallons, were drained periodically into the ditch near the site.

The OU 2 ROD was completed on September 29, 2008. Ongoing activities at the site include remedy implementation including excavation of soils with COCs that exceed chemical and/or radiological cleanup levels, quarterly groundwater sampling for Monitored Natural Attenuation, and completion of a Groundwater to Surface Water Interface investigation.

Site 15, OU 4 is located in the northern portion of NAS Pensacola, and includes portions of the golf course, the golf course maintenance facilities, three concrete wash-down pads, two asphalt wash-down pads, a former pesticide/drum storage building, a removed UST, equipment storage buildings, and several in-use buildings. In the past, a sink located outside of Building 3586 and a floor drain in a concrete pad north of the building collected pesticide and herbicide residue waste and discharged them into a UST. The contents were periodically pumped out by a contracted agent before its removal in 1993. Reportedly, the UST was removed in 1993 and the contents of the tank were spread across the ground surface, approximately 200 feet north-northwest of Building 3447.

The OU 4 ROD was completed on September 27, 2000. Ongoing activities at the site include biannual sampling of groundwater. The primary COC for OU 4 is arsenic.

Site 30 sludge drying beds operated with the IWTP from 1971 to 1984. These units received listed hazardous waste sludge (F006) from the RCRA surface impoundment (IWTP Surge Pond), and, as a result, underwent RCRA closure in 1989. Contents of the drying beds (remaining sludge and leachate drainage system) and an underlying layer of sand were removed to about 6 feet below ground surface. Material removed was disposed of as a hazardous waste.

The OU 10 ROD was completed on September 15, 1997. This site was transferred to the RCRA program. Activities at the site include an ongoing groundwater monitoring program.

Site 33 was a surface impoundments consisting of the domestic polishing pond, phenol/stabilization pond, and industrial surge pond. In 1987, the USEPA RCRA Compliance Branch determined the polishing and stabilization ponds received listed F006 hazardous waste from the surge pond. The ponds were taken out-of-service. In 1988 to 1989, the ponds underwent RCRA permitted "clean closures".

The OU 10 ROD was completed on September 15, 1997. This site was transferred to the RCRA program. Activities at the site include an ongoing groundwater monitoring program.

Site 35 Miscellaneous IWTP SWMU operated with the IWTP from 1971 to 1984. These units received listed hazardous waste sludge (F006) from the RCRA surface impoundment (IWTP Surge Pond), and, as a result, underwent RCRA closure in 1989.

Site 38 consists of the contaminated soil and groundwater identified at Buildings 71 and 604 and associated IWTP sewer line area of NAS Pensacola. Building 71 was used from 1935 to the late 1970s for aircraft paint stripping and painting operations, and consisted of a steel-framed structure with metal siding on a 10- to 14-inch-thick concrete slab. Waste stored during this period reportedly consisted of solvents, acids, caustics, oxidizers, and liquid and non-liquid toxic materials. The building structure has subsequently been demolished, and the area is used for a walking trail with a ceremonial pavilion.

Building 604 was an irregularly shaped, brick/masonry structure built in 1937. Naval Aviation Depot metal plating operations were located in Building 604 until it was closed in May 1996. Initial plating operations were conducted in the western portion of Building 604 from approximately 1960 until the shop was demolished around 1970. Wastes from various operations at Site 38 (including paint stripping) were discharged to Pensacola Bay until the IWTP was built in 1973. Because of Hurricane Ivan damage (2004), the Navy elected to remove the buildings and associated parking lots.

The OU 11 ROD was completed on October 5, 2006. Current activities at the site include biannual sampling of groundwater.

Site 8, is a rifle range disposal area and is located in the area now occupied by Building 3561, which houses the NAS Pensacola Public Works Center (PWC) Maintenance/Material Department. This building covers an area approximately 550 feet by 163 feet. Surrounding the building is an asphalt parking lot on the eastern, western, and northern sides of the building. Along the southern side of the building lies a small grassy area. This area was reportedly used for the disposal of solid waste (primarily paper) from NAS Pensacola between 1951 and 1955, and disposal was accomplished by burning and burial. Site 8 is surrounded by chain-link fencing. In 2004 and 2005 the Navy completed an Interim Removal Action for soils contaminated with cadmium and dieldrin.

The OU 13 ROD was completed on October 5, 2008. Ongoing activities at the site include biannual sampling of groundwater.

Site 24 is immediately north of Building 3561 and PSC 8. The northern portion is encompassed by the northwest corner of the Barrancas National Cemetery and contains many grave sites. The northern and central portions are primarily unpaved and sparsely covered with native grasses and trees. The southern portion contains a fenced storage area with a gravel and crushed shell surface. An unimproved dirt road runs east to west across the southern portion of the site. Site 24 was once used as a pesticide mixing and handling area. The site is currently used as a buffer zone for privacy between John H. Towers Road and the Barrancas National Cemetery.

The OU 13 ROD was completed on October 5, 2008. Ongoing activities at the site include biannual sampling of groundwater.

Site 41 encompasses all of the wetlands potentially impacted by site activities, both tidal and non-tidal, within the NAS Pensacola boundary. A USEPA inventory of wetlands identified and enumerated 79 wetland complexes on NAS Pensacola. Two other wetlands were identified during habitat/biota surveys. For the purpose of these studies, freshwater and brackish water ponds, and drainage ditches are included as wetlands. The majority and largest of the wetlands are located in the western portion of the installation, primarily south and west of Sherman Field. About a third of the 81 wetlands are located east of Sherman Field, where most of the sites are located.

OU 16, Site 41 is currently in the FS stage.

Site 43 is located in a developed area of the base south of Taylor road and west of Murray Road. A paved parking lot covers approximately 31,000 square feet of the site area. The site was identified in 1992 because of the discovery of a partially buried drum.

The OU 18 ROD was completed on April 12, 2010. Remedial activities at the site include excavation of soils with COCs that exceed cleanup levels and quarterly groundwater sampling.

Site 44 is located at the southwest end of Building 3221, which is a large hangar currently used to refurbish aircraft used for museum display. Building 3221 is adjacent to Forrest Sherman Field. The hangar and adjacent paved areas were part of the Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF), and were probably used for aircraft maintenance before the current National Museum of Naval Aviation location opened in 1975. The paved area adjacent to the southwest corner of Building 3221 is currently used as a wash rack for cleaning aircraft and aircraft parts. Surface drainage in this area flows to a small concrete-lined ditch located on the southeast edge of the pavement. When aircraft parts washing activities are being conducted, a diverter system is used to direct the run off to the sanitary sewer system for treatment at the NAS Pensacola IWTP.

OU 19, Site 44 is currently in the FS Stage.

During an investigation to characterize Site 18 (PCB spill at Substation A), lead concentrations in soil were found to exceed screening levels in an area west of Site 18. This area was designated as Site 45 - Building 603 Lead Site and its initial boundaries were presumed based on the Site 18 investigation. Site 45 lies near the intersection of Mustin Street and Center Avenue at NAS Pensacola.

OU 20, Site 45 is currently in the Proposed Plan stage.

This site was discovered during the investigation of Site 38 – OU 11 (Building 71 Sewer Line). While investigating Site 38 (OU 11), lead concentrations detected appeared to be increasing further from the suspected source for Site 38. Buildings 71 and 72 were used from 1935 up to the late 1970’s for aircraft paint stripping and painting. Before 1973, wastes from paint stripping and painting operations were discharged directly to Pensacola Bay. The release of contaminants at Site 46 probably resulted from routine aircraft maintenance activities and storage of materials used in these activities.

OU 21, Site 46 is currently in the Proposed Plan stage.