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NPL Site Narrative for Whiting Field Naval Air Station
WHITING FIELD NAVAL AIR STATION
Milton, Florida
Federal Register Notice: May 31, 1994
Whiting Field Naval Air Station is a naval aviation training facility approximately 7 miles north of Milton, Santa Rosa County, Florida. The facility is located in the northwest Florida panhandle, 20 miles northeast of Pensacola on State Route 87A.
In July 1943, the 2,560-acre facility was commissioned to instruct student naval aviators. Various types of wastes have been generated at the base throughout its history. Through the early 1980s, construction and demolition debris, garbage, waste solvents and oils, tank bottom sludges, fuels and machine fluids were disposed in different locations at the facility. Solvents have been used for cleaning structural metal components prior to repair or fabrication, and for stripping paint from aluminum, steel, and alloys. The facility does not have a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act treatment, storage, and disposal permit, but it is listed as a generator of hazardous wastes.
Three onsite wells currently supply Whiting Field. On August 28, 1986, the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation requested that one drinking water supply well (W-S2) be shut down due to concentrations of benzene exceeding the State drinking water standard. Within one month, the State similarly requested that an additional drinking water supply well (W-W3) be shut down due to concentrations of trichloroethylene exceeding State drinking water standards. These wells were retrofitted with a charcoal filter system and subsequently returned to service. Approximately 6,500 people located within 4 miles of the facility obtain their drinking water from ground water.
The U.S. Navy has developed a program to monitor and control the environmental effects of activities involving hazardous substances at naval installations. In accordance with this program, Whiting Field is proceeding with its investigations and cleanup efforts.
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.