Complementary Investigative Techniques for Site Assessment with Low-Level Contaminants |
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| Authors: | Mark E Byrnes R Wayne Nelson Robert G La Poe Dennis E Lundquist William McNeill |
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| Institution: | Mark E. Byrnes has a master's degree in geology from Portland State University and is a project manager for the Environmental Remediation Division of Science Applications International Corp. (14062 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO 80401). Byrnes' experience is primarily in the field of environmental site assessment and petroleum hydrocarbon remediation.;Dr. R. Wayne Nelson is technical director/acting manager of the Environmental Remediation Division of Science Applications International Corp. (14062 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO 80401). Previously he was deputy program manager at Battelle Memorial Institute for the U.S. Air Force Installation Restoration Program (IRP). Dr. Nelson has a Ph.D. from the University of London in Environmental Policy and Planning.;Major Robert G. La Poe has a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Cornell University, and is acting as the Vandenberg Air Force Base Project Manager for the Installation Restoration Program (1STRAD/ETC, Vandenberg AFB, CA 93437). Major La Poe has specialized in the properties of organic contaminants that determine their transport and fate.;Dennis E. Lundquist has a master's degree in environmental engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles. He is the deputy program manager for the Human Systems Division, Brooks Air Force Base, Texas (HSD/YAQ, Brooks AFB, TX 78235). Lundquist has 14 years of hazardous waste planning, programming, and project execution management.;Dr. William McNeill has a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. He is a senior technical advisor at Science Applications International Corp. (14062 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO 80401) and has many years of experience in hazardous waste program management. He was formerly director of Technical Operations at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, where he was responsible for environmental programs and demilitarization of chemical warfare materials. |
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| Abstract: | A remedial investigation (RI) was performed in an area downgradient from an abandoned missile silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, as part of the United States Air Force Installation Restoration Program (IRP). A number of complementary investigative techniques were used to assure a reliable assessment of site contamination. These included the review of aerial photographs, the use of an organic vapor analyzer (OVA) and carbon adsorption/mass spectrometer (MS) method to conduct a soil-gas survey; magnetic and electromagnetic geophysical surveys; bedrock permeability testing; and the chemical analysis of soil, sediment, surface water, and ground water samples. The results from this investigation revealed the presence of an undocumented landfill and a small trichloroethylene plume in ground water at concentrations ranging from 6.7 ppb to 31 ppb. The investigation also identified local ground water flow direction, provided strong evidence of the location of potential sources of contamination, and defined the downgradient extent of ground water contamination. Because the identified contaminants have not as yet reached the environmentally sensitive wetland at the base of the slope below this facility, there is still time to propose remedial alternatives that would serve to protect this environmentally sensitive area. |
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