Laserfiche WebLink
Ms. Wendy L. Cohen, Chief - 2 - 5 March 2003 <br /> Cleanup Goals <br /> Attached to this memorandum is a table of designated levels that defines cleanup goals for soil <br /> contaminants and groundwater pollutants. The designated levels for soil are derived by identifying the <br /> appropriate water quality limit and back-calculating the concentration of contaminant that could remain <br /> in soil and not present a threat to water quality. A leachability factor and an attenuation factor are <br /> ascribed to each constituent based on the tendency of a constituent to migrate with water (the <br /> leachability factor) and the capacity of the soil column to accommodate constituents (the attenuation <br /> factor). The attenuation factor takes into account the 30-foot depth to groundwater and the unsaturated <br /> zone soil types encountered at this site (predominantly silty clay, clay, and sandy clay). The designated <br /> level is calculated by multiplying the water quality limit, leachability factor and attenuation factor. If <br /> there is less than 10 feet of soil above the water table, the attenuation factor is reduced by a factor of 10, <br /> and a corresponding designated level is derived. <br /> The cleanup goal for nitrogen compounds in soil for most of this site is 250 mg/kg for the sum of nitrate <br /> and ammonium, based on the distance to groundwater. For the areas of the old tank farm and the <br /> northern area in which these compounds extend to the water table, the cleanup goal becomes the <br /> detection limit for the sum of these compounds within 10 feet of the water table. Alternatively, if WFS <br /> wishes to show that a higher concentration of nitrogen in soil in proximity to the water table will not <br /> affect water quality, it may analyze soil containing known quantities of nitrogen with a waste extraction <br /> test using de-ionized water as the extractant(DI-WET). If WFS chooses to pursue this method of <br /> determining a cleanup goal for nitrogen near the water table, it should discuss the procedural details with <br /> us first. <br /> Nitrate in groundwater upgradient of the site occasionally exceeds the water quality limit of 10 mg/l <br /> nitrate-as-nitrogen, as evidenced by concentrations observed in upgradient monitoring wells MW-1 and <br /> MW-4, which have fluctuated from 8 to 22 mg/l between March 1998 and August 2002. The variation <br /> in the monitoring data suggests that slugs of nitrate occasionally pass by from upgradient sources. The <br /> cleanup goal for nitrate in groundwater will be based on an assessment of background concentrations as <br /> measured from these two upgradient wells. <br /> Distribution of Pesticides in Soil <br /> At this facility, pesticides have always been stored as packaged products, applied in the field, and the <br /> application equipment rinsed in the rinse pad area, according a 13 February 2003 phone conversation <br /> with Ms. Bishop. The pesticide analyses of the 1990 Investigation were conducted on 29 soil samples <br /> from 11 borings in areas where equipment and products were stored or rinsed, or where soil staining was <br /> observed. The pesticide analytical suites included organochlorine compounds, organophosphate <br /> compounds, volatile organic compounds, carbamate/urea compounds, and chlorinated herbicides. <br /> This investigation showed that the primary source area for pesticides is in the northern corner of the site, <br /> which houses the rinse pad, one of two former dry wells, and a stormwater ponding area. The <br /> stormwater ponding area, immediately downgradient from the rinse pad, is the location of the HRC® <br /> pilot test. WFS searched for the dry well as reported in GeoSyntec's 23 December 1998 Results of <br /> Geophysical Survey to Locate Reported Dry Wells, but a dry well was not identified. <br /> Soil samples obtained to a depth of 10 feet bgs at the stormwater pond contained dinoseb and 1,2-DCP, <br /> and samples obtained to 6 feet bgs at the rinse pad contained diuron and ammonium. At the dry well, <br /> samples were obtained to a depth of 24 feet bgs, and diuron, dinoseb, 1,2-DCP, and dibromochloro- <br />