US Army Corps of Engineers(USACE), Kansas City District, Tyson Valley Powder Farm, MO

In 2008, SUMMIT performed a $1-million RI at a FUDS munitions storage and testing facility.  Contaminants included metals, explosives, and solvents (dense non-aqueous phase liquids).  We managed up to four work crews simultaneously to install 12 new shallow and deep (bedrock) wells, and to collect over 500 multi-media samples in 3 months.  SUMMIT developed the RI data collection strategy to determine the extent of contamination, characterize its fate and transport, and evaluate human health and ecological risks and remedial alternatives.  Innovations included:

• Using an on-site laboratory to provide near real-time data to quickly render decisions in the field
• Designing a dye tracer study to define flow paths and contaminant velocities in fractured limestone bedrock
• Combining auger and air rotary drilling to quickly drill limestone bedrock up to 150 feet to collect appropriate lithologic data reducing drilling costs by 50 percent
• Using X-ray fluorescence in the field to quickly assess metal contamination and identify soil samples for off-site laboratory analysis