Mid-Atlantic Superfund

EPA Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic)

Maryland
Harford County

EPA ID# MD3210021355

2nd Congressional District

Last Update: December 2009

Other Names

USA Edgewood Arsenal
US Coast Guard - Pool Island Range
US Coast Guard - Upper Chesapeake Range

Current Site Status

In June of 2001 EPA and the Army signed a Final Close-out Report for the Michaelsville Landfill. The Landfill was the only portion of the Aberdeen Area on the National Priorities List. The site was capped and is in the long term monitoring phase. Under RCRA/CERCLA integration, the Federal Facilities Agreement requires APG to address nine other Operable Units. Seven RODs have been issued for these nine remaining active operable units. The ROD for the Swan Creek and Woodrest Creek Landfill has just been signed and the ROD for the Western Boundary Area and the Shell Washout Area is planned for 2010 and will be the final ROD for this site.

In June 2002 investigations revealed perchlorate (used as a rocket fuel and in military pyrotechnics) in one of eleven water supply wells serving the Town of Aberdeen. Perchlorate has been detected in the finished water which is supplied to the town, but water supplied to the public has been at or below 1ppb. The City is continually monitoring the production wells and finished water which has remained at a safe level. The perchlorate in ground water at this site is well below the level of 24.5 ppb corresponding to the rfd published by the National Academy of Sciences. The City of Aberdeen has installed an ion exchange treatment unit which in conjunction with blending has kept the supplied water below 1 ppb. The ROD for the Western Boundary Area will include this ground water.

The Army is completing studies of all remaining Non-NPL waste sites at the Aberdeen Area. Removal of unexploded munitions from the Abby Point shoreline has been completed. A decision to expand a groundwater treatment plant for Harford County production wells was made the summer of 2000 and construction was finished in August 2003. Two RODs were issued in 2006, one for all ground water (six plumes) and one for five sediment sites. The excavation work for the sediment sites is complete and the ground water treatment systems are operational and functional. A ROD has been issued for two closed small arms ranges and numerous small areas identified during the RCRA Facility Assessment and the remedial action is almost completed. Two additional RODs are needed to complete the site decisions required under the FFA. One of those RODs will be for the Shell Washout area and it is planned for 2010. The final ROD will address the remainder of sites in the Western Boundary Area. A remedial Investigation report and risk assessment have been submitted for the Western Boundary Sites and is under review. The final ROD is planned for 2011.

Site Description

The Michaelsville area in Harford County, Maryland consists of 17,000 acres, including the 20-acre Michaelsville Landfill, and numerous known or suspected solid waste management units that may be sources of contamination. This Army testing Base has operated since 1918 and contains firing ranges, impact areas, vehicle test tracks, a fire training area, and laboratories in support of the testing activities. The Michaelsville Landfill operated as a sanitary landfill from the 1970s until 1980. The landfill received household garbage and refuse from the installation. The Michaelsville area is bordered on the west by the Bush River and to the northeast and south by the Chesapeake Bay. The area is drained by seven creeks plus the Bush River. There are 38,600 people living within 3 miles of the site. Residences located on the Michaelsville area of the site house military personnel and dependents. Harford County and town of Aberdeen have water supply wells on the A.G. property, near the site boundaries. People who come in direct contact with or accidentally ingest contaminated groundwater, surface water, soil, or sediments may be at risk. Preliminary groundwater and surface water sampling has identified various heavy metals, phosphorous, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and explosives. Soil is contaminated with pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), VOCs and petroleum hydrocarbons.

Site Responsibility

Cleanup of this site is the responsibility of the federal government.

NPL Listing History

This site was proposed to the National Priorities List of the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites requiring long term remedial action on April 10, 1985. The site was formally added to the list October 4, 1989.

Threats and Contaminants

People who come in direct contact with or accidentally ingest contaminated ground water, surface water, soil, or sediments may be at risk. Over two decades of testing ground water and surface water sampling has identified various heavy metals, phosphorous, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Soil is contaminated with pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), VOCs and petroleum hydrocarbons risk of bioaccumulation of contaminants in the food chain. Contaminants have been found in the Harford County water supply wells, and in the City of Aberdeen supply wells.

Contaminant descriptions and risk factors are available from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, an arm of the CDC.

Cleanup Progress

Actual Construction Underway

A ROD was issued for two small arms ranges to remove lead contaminated soil and bullets. The excavation and solidification of this soil is almost completed and should be finished in the Fall of 2009. The remedial design for for the Swan Creek and Woodrest Creek dumps is planned for completion in late 2009, with construction beginning in 2010. Containment remedies and land use controls have been selected for the dumps and the remedial design is under review. The remedial action work will be completed under a Performance Based Contract which has been awarded. A ROD is planned for the Western Boundary and Shell Washout Areas in 2010 which will address all the remaining areas of contamination at this site. A contract for completion of this work has also been awarded. A Five Year Review report has been signed in 2009.

Contacts

Site Contacts

Administrative Record Locations