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NPL Site Narrative for Dover Air Force Base
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE
Dover, Delaware
Federal Register Notice: March 13, 1989
Conditions at proposal (October 15, 1984): Dover Air Force Base has been in operation in Dover, Kent County, Delaware, since 1942. It currently is the base of operation for the 436th Military Airlift Wing. The base's operations generated numerous wastes, including paints, solvents, and oil. Some wastes were buried in drums, while others were disposed of through the storm drainage system. The wastes were disposed of in various on-base locations totaling 44 acres.
Ground water on the site is contaminated with arsenic and other metals, and an on-site stream is contaminated with trichloroethylene, according to tests conducted by the Air Force. The base well system serves about 10,000 people and is routinely monitored by the Air Force. Currently, it is free of the contaminants found in the ground water.
Dover Air Force Base is participating in the Installation Restoration Program (IRP), established in 1978. Under this program, the Department of Defense seeks to identify, investigate, and clean up contamination from hazardous materials. The Air Force has completed Phase I (records search). Phase II (hydrogeological investigation) is underway.
Status (April 1987): Approximately 11 areas on the base have now been identified as potential sources of contamination. The Air Force is working with the State to close the industrial wash basins, one of the major sources of ground water contamination at the base, according to requirements of Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The Air Force filed Part A of a permit application for the basin, giving it Interim Status under RCRA Subtitle C.
Phase II of the IRP continues.
Status (March 13, 1989): EPA, the Air Force, and the State are negotiating an Interagency Agreement covering comprehensive RCRA and CERCLA cleanup and compliance activities at the base.
The industrial waste basins and a drum site have been cleaned up. IRP investigations continue.
This site was reproposed on July 22, 1987 to be consistent with EPA's proposed policy for placing on the NPL sites located on Federally owned or operated facilities subject to the corrective action authorities of RCRA Subtitle C. EPA solicited comments on the Hazard Ranking System score for the site, which includes areas subject to RCRA Subtitle C corrective action authorities. EPA has finalized the NPL/RCRA policy for Federal facility sites and is placing this site on the NPL under the policy.
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.