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NPL Site Narrative for Alaska Battery Enterprises
ALASKA BATTERY ENTERPRISES
Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska
Federal Register Notice: March 31, 1989
Conditions at proposal (June 24, 1988): Alaska Battery Enterprises has manufactured batteries designed for subarctic conditions since 1969 on a site of approximately 0.8 acre in Fairbanks North Star Borough 1.5 miles south of downtown Fairbanks, Alaska.
Used batteries are accepted for recycling, and battery parts and acid are stored in a fenced, unpaved yard or inside a building on the site. All wash water, spills, and domestic waste water generated inside the building are discharged to an on-site septic tank and drain field. Prior to 1976, used batteries were broken open on-site, the acid reused, the lead shipped out of the State, and the cases buried on-site.
In 1986, the Alaska Department of Transportation, whose right-of-way completely surrounds the site, found lead and acid in soil on and off the site. A drinking water well is on-site, and over 18,000 people use wells within 3 miles of the site for drinking water. Ground water is shallow (5-11 feet in some areas), and the gravel soils are permeable, conditions that facilitate movement of contaminants into ground water.
Status (March 31, 1989): In August 1988, EPA used CERCLA emergency funds to excavate approximately 4,000 tons of lead-contaminated soil. The soil was first stockpiled on-site and was later shipped to a hazardous waste facility regulated under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The site is secured by a daily guard service and an 8-foot security fence erected by EPA. EPA is analyzing further removal and remedial options at the site.
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.