PLANT 42 CLEANUP CLOSER AIR FORCE SAYS 11 SITES AT FACILITY NEED WORK.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

< PALMDALE- After an investigation lasting five years, the Air Force says it's ready to move on to the next phase of the environmental cleanup of Plant 42 - finding the most effective methods.

A draft remedial investigation report states that of the 27 sites studied at Plant 42, 11 will require cleanup work. The other 16 sites, pending approval of the California Environmental Protection Agency, will be deemed as requiring ``no further investigation.''

``None of the sites is in a place that would inhibit the work being done at the plant,'' said Lt. Col. Celeo Wright, Plant 42's commander.

The 11 sites targeted for cleanup include former paint waste disposal areas, evaporation ponds, a wash rack, and engine run-up areas. Contaminants found at the sites include polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCB, trichloroethylene, or TCE, and arsenic - all three are suspected carcinogens.

Feasibility studies will be conducted to determine the best method for cleaning up the sites. A likely method to be used at all or some of the sites is excavation.

``We'll remove the soil and take it to an off-site landfill that handles hazardous waste,'' said George Warner, the remedial project manager for Plant 42.

Also among the 11 sites targeted for cleanup is a groundwater zone northwest of building 150, an aircraft hangar on the northwest portion of Plant 42. Trichloroethylene was detected in a well used for industrial and drinking water.

Tests found TCE in concentrations of up to 3.7 parts per billion, which is lower than the federal EPA's standard of 5 parts per billion but greater than the state's health goal of 0.8 parts parts per billion.

As a precaution, the well has been taken offline, Warner said.

``We will pump and treat the groundwater,'' Warner said.

Another site of concern is a a former fire training area, located about 400 feet south of runway 4-22 in the south central portion of Plant 42, that is contaminated with PCBs. A health risk assessment determined the cancer risk was nearly three times above the state standard of one in a million, meaning one person out of a million would get cancer if exposed to the site for certain period of time.

The 60-foot diameter burn pit was used for fire training from 1954 to 1959 and it is believed compounds from dry cleaning stores and transformer oils were disposed of there too.

One site investigated by the Air Force but not included in the remedial investigation report with the other sites was a waste pile that has been cleaned up.

The Air Force conducted a separate investigation report before it removed approximately 135 cubic yards of debris that included paint chips, burned rubber parts, empty cans, empty drums, and car battery parts.

That site had a number of contaminants, including the suspected carcinogen dioxin. The site was cleaned up at cost of $188,000.

All of the contamination problems are the result of operations prior to 1984, before regulations were enacted to tighten environmental practices, Air Force officials say.

The investigations are being managed by Aeronautical Systems Center's Acquisition Environmental, Safety and Health division out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Aeronautical Systems Center is Plant 42's parent unit.