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Kenneth D. Landau -3- 16 June 1987 4. Drywells at Buildings 850 and 851B received discharges from the sinks in those buildings. The 14 April 1987 letter reports that these sinks are now plumbed to the septic tank system and are used only for personal washing. The small (about 5-gallon ) acid dip tanks are no longer used in these machine shops and their covers have been welded shut. (See description in Item 2 above. ) The same information is needed for these closed drywells as described in item 2 above to determine if soil contamination and a threat to water quality exist. 5. Building 879 is used for vehicle maintenance, and vehicle washdown water had been discharged to the ground (actually a ditch, not a drywell ). Two retention tanks have been installed to collect this water which is then hauled to the main site and discharged to the sewer. Soil samples were taken from the bottom of the ditch during the 1983 closure of the GSA drywells and showed up to 1 ,000 ppb toluene and 6 ppm MEK by EPA Method 624. The three metals tested (chromium, copper and lead) were not detected; however, as noted earlier, the detection limit for lead was quite high. The ditch was not closed in 1983, however, and was used until late 1985 when the two retention tanks were installed. Additional soil samples .are needed in the ditch to determine the extent of organic contamination and should be analyzed as well for oil and grease and metals. 6. Building 819 is used for pesticide mixing and decontamination of equipment used in the high explosives (HE) process area. The mixing room floor drain has now been plugged and the equipment washdown area has been plumbed to two retention tanks. Both areas previously discharged to the ground. The 14 April 1987 letter contains results form soil samples taken in the area of the former discharge. Results show high explosives (HMX and ROX) and TCE at low levels, but several metals at concentrations which could affect water quality. These include barium, chromium, cadmium, nickel , and thallium, which exceed generic designated levels to protect ground water, assuming a 100-fold attenuation in the soil . The letter states that a monitoring well also was installed but gives no sample results. Ms. Judy Steenhoven told me by telephone on 15 May 1987 that the current procedure is to test the water in the retention tanks for HE and a few metals (not pesticides and not necessarily those metals listed above) , and if none are detected, to then discharge the contents to the ground. This constitutes an illegal discharge and must cease immediately. We need additional information, including constituents for which the retained water is tested, depth to ground water, and results of any ground water sampling. WLC/mm