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A-C2 <br /> 4. This site is a very old airport which has had aerial pesticide applicator <br /> use sporadically over the past 40 years. At some time, a wash pad incor- <br /> porating a French drain (vertical leachfield) was installed at the facil- <br /> ity. It was reported that in the 1960' s, Pacific Gas and Electric utilized <br /> the site for equipment storage and partially excavated the French drain to <br /> increase infiltration. No operator is currently based at the facility, but <br /> due to the past disposal practices and site geohydrology, there is a <br /> potential for adverse water quality impacts. <br /> Water samples were collected from an unused hand-dug well , approximately <br /> 200 yards from the wash pad and from two residential domestic wells <br /> approximately 300 yards from the facility. Analyses for all 6 classes of <br /> pesticides revealed low levels of 3 compounds. A second set of samples was <br /> collected from the two residential wells and atrazine and DDT/DDE were <br /> confirmed at approximately 3 and 0.04 ppb respectively. The source of the <br /> pesticides is unclear; atrazine is not usually applied by aerial appli- <br /> cators and has been shown to move into ground water in areas where it is <br /> used to control weeds on roads. DDT was used extensively in the area in the <br /> past, perhaps on the soils through which the wells were constructed. <br /> The old French drain will need to be closed in such a manner that there is <br /> no further threat to water quality. Additional sampling and hydrogeologic <br /> investigation will be necessary as part of the closure procedure and to <br /> evaluate the French drain as the potential source of pesticides in the <br /> residential wells. <br /> 5. This aerial applicator facility consists of two adjoining concrete wash <br /> pads sloped to a ditch which was constructed to retain all pesticide rinse <br /> water on the facility property. The ditch has been in use over twenty <br /> years . A composite sample was collected at 0-6" from 5 sites along <br /> approximately 100 ' of the ditch adjacent to the wash pads. Two 18"-24" <br /> samples were collected from the drain, one downgradient from the rinse <br /> water input from each wash pad. There was a flooded rice field adjacent to <br /> the ditch at the time of sample collection. The holes resulting from <br /> sampling to 24" filled with water soon after sampling (this indicates a <br /> high perched water table -- probably the result of rice culture in the <br /> area) . Site soils are heavy clay. <br /> Analysis of the 0-6" composite revealed several - pesticides from five <br /> classes (no phenoxy herbicides were detected) . DDT and metabolites were <br /> detected at 36 parts per million (ppm) total . Molinate (Ordram) and <br /> endosulfan were present at high levels . Analyses of the two 18"-24" <br /> samples revealed that all materials detected at 0-6" experienced high <br /> attenuation. DDT and metabolites total was 0.35 ppm; molinate and endo- <br /> sulfan were similarly reduced to low levels. The attenuation noted reduces <br /> the concern for any impact on ground water from past rinse water disposal <br /> practices at this site, although the effect of the high perched water table <br /> as it affects leaching of pesticides is unknown. <br />