Iowa Superfund Site: Iowa Army Ammunition Plant
Fight Air Pollution & Water Pollution With an Environmental Toxic Tort Lawsuit
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Do you need a Toxic Tort Lawyer in The Hawkeye State? The U.S. E.P.A. has designated Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in Iowa as a Superfund site due to its levels of toxic pollution and harm to the natural world. You can read the report for the site below.
Some Superfund sites are on the National Priority Site Lists. The National Priorities List ("NPL") is the list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial action financed under the federal Superfund program. Environmental Protection Agency regulations outline a formal process for assessing hazardous waste sites and placing them on the NPL. The NPL is intended primarily to guide the EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation.
Sites are listed on the NPL upon completion of Hazard Ranking System (HRS) screening, public solicitation of comments about the proposed site, and after all comments have been addressed. EPA may delete a final NPL site if it determines that no further response is required to protect human health or the environment. Sites where a remediation was completed through the Superfund program are typically deleted from the NPL.
Living near Superfund Sites in Iowa may place you and your loved ones at risk of getting sick from proximity to the site and experiencing a loss of value for your property, but you can do something to to fight back: The EPA says,
[We have] set up a "Post Construction Completion" (or PCC) strategy to ensure that Superfund response actions provide for the long-term protection of human health and the environment. EPA's Post Construction Completion activities also involve optimizing remedies to increase effectiveness and/or reduce cost without sacrificing long-term protection of human health and the environment.Regardless, most of the Superfund sites continue to pose a threat the well-being of those who live close to a Superfund site.
The lawyers of Weitz & Luxenberg, you can trust the legal experience of skilled Toxic Tort lawyers who will help fight back against polluters and win you and your community the compensation and environmental remediation to which you are entitled.
Below you can read the EPA report for the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant Superfund site. If you, a loved one, or someone in your community has gotten sick due to exposure to a Superfund site Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, or if your property has lost value because of contamination, you are better off with a toxic tort lawyer who knows the people of the State of Iowa . Take your first step filling out this simple form. There is no obligation, and your case will be evaluated within one day. To refer a friend, neighbor, or loved one, follow this link to let them know about the environmental toxic tort lawyers at Weitz & Luxenberg.
Iowa Army Ammunition Plant
This site is a Federal Facility.
Iowa Army
Ammunition Plant
Iowa
Epa Id# Ia7213820445
EPA Region 7
City:
County: Des Moines County
10 miles west of Burlington
Other Names:
Site Description
The 19,127-acre Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAP) site's primary activity since 1941 has been
to load, assemble, and pack a variety of conventional ammunition and fusing systems. The
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) operated at Line 1 of the
Ia
AP from 1948 to 1975,assembling nuclear weapons. Wastes currently produced at
Ia
AP consist of variousexplosive-laden sludges, wastewaters, and solids, lead-contaminated sludges, ashes from
incineration and open burning of explosives, and waste solvents from industrial and laboratory
operations. Past operations also generated waste pesticides, radioactive wastes, and incendiaries.
The Army has identified a number of potentially contaminated areas, including an abandoned
4-acre settling lagoon, the Line 800 Pinkwater Lagoon, which received wastewater containing
explosives from 1943 to 1955. The lagoon held approximately 75,000 cubic yards of explosive
contaminated soils. A second area of concern was the former Line 1 impoundment, which was
used from 1948 to 1957. Wastewater flowed through the 3 acre sedimentation area, where
explosives settled out. Wastewaters subsequently overflowed the dam into Brush Creek.
Approximately 100 people live within 3 miles of the site and obtain drinking water from private
wells. In the spring of 1993, the Army analyzed water samples from the wells of residences
located just south of the
Ia
AP. Two of the wells were found to contain explosives at levelsexceeding health advisory limits. The Army offered alternate water supplies to all potentially
impacted residents south of the
Ia
AP and provided connections for all residents who so desired.Surface water within 3 miles downstream of the site is used for recreational activities.
Site Responsibility:
This site is being addressed by the Army with
oversight by the EPA.
Npl Listinghistory
Proposed Date:07/14/89
Final Date:
08/30/90
Deleted Date:
Threats And Contaminants
The Army conducted tests from 1981 to 1984 and detected explosives, from
former waste disposal practices, in surface water and groundwater monitoring wells
downgradient of the lagoon and dam. In 1984, the Army detected explosives and
lead in creek sediments. People using Brush Creek for recreational purposes may be
at risk due to contaminated waters and sediments. Two individuals living south of
the
Ia
AP along Brush Creek were placed on bottled water by the Army in thespring of 1993 due to the presence of explosives at levels exceeding health advisory
limits in their water supply wells. The Army has connected approximately 150
residences south of the
Ia
AP to an alternate water supply due to actual andpotential contamination of groundwater with explosives. Investigation to define the
nature and extent of groundwater contamination off-post are continuing.
Cleanup Approach
Response Action Status
Interim Actions: In the summer of 1995, the Army completed interim cleanup actions to address
soil contamination at a former pesticide disposal pit and at numerous explosive-wastewater sump
locations. An additional interim action was initiated in the spring of 1996, in which approximately
83,000 cubic yards of explosives-contaminated soils and sediments from the former Line 1
Impoundment Area and the Line 800 Pinkwater Lagoon were excavated and disposed of on-site.
Soils were segregated and disposed of according to their levels of risk. The most highly
contaminated material was temporarily stockpiled for eventual treatment while potential treatment
processes are evaluated. Mid-level waste materials have been permanently disposed on-site in a
lined soil repository that has been built adjacent to the installation's former Inert Disposal Landfill.
The excavation of contaminated soils from the Line 1 and Line 800 areas was completed in the
summer of 1997. The excavated areas at Lines 1 and 800 have been transformed into wetland
areas, where phyto-treatment alternatives for explosive-contaminated groundwater will be
evaluated. If the treatment studies are successful, the Army may evaluate expanding this concept
to a site-wide groundwater remedy. The Army, in the spring of 1998, began implementation of a
cleanup approach similar to that used at Line 1 and 800 at over 200 other individual source areas
at the
Ia
AP as an Interim Remedial Action (IRA). A Record of Decision (ROD) for this actionwas signed in late March 1998. A cleanup of solvent and fuel contaminated soils from past
operation at the Fire Training Pit was completed in mid-1999.
Entire Site: In 1990, the Army began a study to determine the nature and extent of contamination
at the site and identified 43 individual areas requiring investigation. With the assistance of the
EPA, samples were collected from these potential areas of contamination. After analyzing these
samples, the EPA and the Army determined that approximately three-quarters of the areas needed
further investigation. A site-wide investigation was completed in 1994. The Army completed a
supplemental field effort in the spring of 1997 to better define the extent of contamination.
Significant contaminant volumes from the former Line 1 Impoundment Area and the Line 800
Pinkwater Lagoon have been addressed through early response actions. Offsite groundwater
sampling in the summer of 1999 has indicated the presence of low levels of explosives in
groundwater near Brush Creek. This issue is currently under evaluation. Additional investigation
of past AEC operations at the plant, especially at Line 1 and the Firing Site are being planned with
input from the Department of Energy. Chunks of depleted uranium were reported at the Firing
Site in the Fall of 2000, prompting increased focus on this site.
Site Facts:
A Federal Facilities Compliance Agreement between the Army and the EPA was
signed in 1988. The installation subsequently was proposed for the National
Priorities List (NPL), and Federal Facility Agreement was negotiated in late 1990.
The
Ia
AP site is participating in the Installation Restoration Program, a speciallyfunded program established by the Department of Defense (DoD) in 1978 to
identify, investigate, and control the migration of hazardous contaminants at
military and other DoD facilities.
Environmental Progress
The interim actions completed in 1997 at the
Ia
AP site reduce the potential threats topeople and the environment while further cleanup actions are being planned.
Site Repository
Main Administration Building, Iowa Superfund Records Center
Army Ammunition Plant, Middletown, 901 N. 5th St.
Ia 52638
Danville Iowa City Hall, Danville,
Ia
Mail Stop SUPRBurlington Public Library, Burlington, (913)551-4038
Ia
Kansas City, KS 66101
Regional
Site Manager:
Scott Marquess
E-Mail Address:
marquess.scott@epa.gov
(913) 551-7131
Community Involvement
Coordinator:
Phone Number:
Public Information Center:
E-Mail Address:
State Contact:
Phone Number:
Miscellaneous Information
State:
Ia
Congressional District:
03
Epa Organization:
Sfd-Supr/Ffse
Modifications
source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Act Now! It is essential that you inquire about your pollutant lawsuit as soon as possible. Iowa law may limit your time to bring a legal claim to protect your rights. Your legal review is free and there is no commitment. You case will be evaluated immediately, so get started on your claim today!
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IA
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