Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit 342: Area 23 Mercury Fire Training Pit Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Revision: 0 - March 1998

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Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit 342: Area 23 Mercury Fire Training Pit Nevada Test Site, Nevada Controlled Copy No.: Approved for public release; further distribution is authorized. U.S. Department of Energy

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This report has been reproduced directly from the best available copy. Available to DOE and DOE contractors from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, P.O. Box 62, Oak Ridge, TN 37831; prices Available to the public from the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA

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CORRECTIVE ACTION INVESTIGATION PLAN FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION UNIT 342: AREA 23 MERCURY FIRE TRAINING PIT NEVADA TEST SITE, NEVADA DOE Nevada Operations Office Las Vegas, Nevada Controlled Copy No.: Uncontrolled Approved for public release; further distribution is authorized.

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This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or use fulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufac turer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recom mendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

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CORRECTIVE ACTION INVESTIGATION PLAN FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION UNIT 342: AREA 23 MERCURY FIRE TRAINING PIT NEVADA TEST SITE, NEVADA Janet Appenzelref*Wing, Project Manager Industrial Sites Subproject Michael O. Giblin, Acting Project Manager Nevada Environmental Restoration Project

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Table of Contents Page i of vi List of Figures......................................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables................................................................................ iv List of Acronyms and Abbreviations.................................................................................................... v 2.5.1 Previous Sampling Events............................................................................... 8 2.5.2 Passive Soil Gas Survey................................................................................... 9 2.5.4 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Requirements....................... 12 3.2 Contaminants of Potential Concern........................................................................... 17 3.3 Preliminary Action Levels.......................................................................................... 17 3.4 DQO Process Discussion............................................................................................ 18 5.2 Potential Waste Streams.............................................................................................. 27

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Table of Contents (Continued) 5.3.3 Hazardous Waste Management..................................................................... 29 6.0 Duration and Records Availability...........................................................................................32 Appendix A - Data Quality Objectives Process Page ii of vi

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List of Figures Number Title Page 1-2 CAU 342, Area 23, Mercury Fire Training Pit................................................................... 3 2-1 Passive Soil Gas Sample Locations.....................................................................................10 2-2 Passive Soil Gas Plume Map with Proposed Soil BoringLocations............................... 11 4-1 Proposed Surface and Near-Surface Soil Sampling Locations....................................... 21 Page iii of vi

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List of Tables Number Title Page 2-1 Constituents Identified in the AST Residual Fluids and theTelephone Poles................8 3-1 Site Elements, Descriptions, Activities, and COPCs for the FTP................................... 14 5-1 Action Levels for Investigation-Derived Contaminants.................................................. 27 A. 1 -1 Data Quality Objectives Process Participants and Roles............................................. A-1

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Page v of vi List of Acronyms and Abbreviations Aboveground storage tank Below ground surface Corrective Action Decision Document Corrective Action Investigation Plan Corrective Action Site Corrective Action Unit Contaminants of Potential Concern U.S. Department of Energy U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Estimated quantitation limit Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order Fire Training Pit Health and Safety Plan

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Page vi of vi List of Acronyms and Abbreviations (Continued) NAC Nevada Administrative Code NDEP Nevada Department of Environmental Protection NTS Nevada Test Site NTSWAC Nevada Test Site Waste Acceptance Criteria POC Performance Objective Criteria PPE Personal protective equipment ppm Parts per million QAPP Quality Assurance Project Plan RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act SAIC Science Applications International Corporation SVOC Semivolatile organic compound(s) TPH Total petroleum hydrocarbon VOC Volatile organic compound(s) UTM Universal Transverse Mercator

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The Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit 342, Area 23 Mercury Fire Training Pit, has been developed in accordance with the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order that was agreed to by the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office; the State of Nevada Division of Environmental Protection; and the U.S. Department of Defense. Corrective Action Unit 342 consists of a single Corrective Action Site, 23-56-01. The Fire Training Pit was used from the early 1960s until the early 1990s for fire suppression training exercises. Fires were ignited using off-specification or rust-contaminated fuels; various fire-suppressant chemicals were used to extinguish the fires. The contaminants of potential concern consist mainly of hydrocarbons and possibly other volatile organic compounds, semivolatile organic compounds, metals, and polychlorinated biphenyls. In addition to regular training exercises, special bums were occasionally conducted to test cables or other materials. These special bums may have resulted in the release of other contaminants such as dioxins and furans. Based on site history collected to support the Data Quality Objectives process, a conceptual site model for the Corrective Action Unit was developed as follows: • Contaminants of potential concern are confined within the boundary of the study area as shown on Figure 1-2 of the Corrective Action Investigation Plan. • Infiltration at the bum pit and the aboveground storage tanks was mainly vertical with minimal subsurface lateral spread. • Infiltration in other areas of the site is limited vertically to near surface. • Surficial areal extent of contaminants of potential concern is unknown within the study area because of insufficient documentation of bum locations and cleanup activities and because of potential redistribution associated with grading in the area. • The total volume of hydrocarbon liquid discharged to the Fire Training Pit is unknown, but at least 136,000 liter (36,000 gallons) are estimated to have been used in training activities at the site. Unknown amounts of water and other fire suppressants were likely released at the Fire

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• Groundwater impact is unlikely because depth to groundwater is extensive (greater than 240 meters [800 feet]), and the environmental conditions at the site (i.e., arid climate, high evapotransporation rate, low permeabilities) are not conducive to downward migration. A more detailed conceptual model is presented in Section 3.0 of the investigation plan. The conceptual model serves as the basis for the sampling strategy. The technical approach for investigating this Corrective Action Unit consists of the following • A preliminary assessment of contaminant of potential concern distribution using a passive soil • A surface and near-surface soil investigation using hand tools or hydraulic samplers • A subsurface soil investigation using borings Field-screening methods will be used to detect preliminary concentrations of volatile organics, radioactivity (not expected in this area), and total petroleum hydrocarbons. Samples will be collected for laboratory analysis and verification at each site. Additional sampling and analytical details are presented in Section 4.0 of the Corrective Action Investigation Plan. Details of the waste management strategy for the Corrective Action Unit are included in Section 5.0 of the investigation Under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order, the Corrective Action Investigation Plan will be submitted to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection for approval. The field work will be conducted following approval of the plan. The results of the field investigation will support a defensible evaluation of corrective action alternatives in the Corrective Action Decision Document.

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This Corrective Action Investigation Plan (CAIP) has been developed in accordance with the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) that was agreed to by the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV); the State of Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP); and the U.S. Department of Defense (FFACO, 1996). The CAIP is a document that provides or references all of the specific information for investigation activities associated with Corrective Action Units (CAUs) or Corrective Action Sites (CASs). According to the FFACO, CASs are sites potentially requiring corrective action(s) and may include solid waste management units or individual disposal or release sites (FFACO, 1996). Corrective Action Units consist of one or more CASs grouped together based on geography, technical similarity, or agency responsibility for the purpose of determining corrective actions. This CAIP contains the environmental sample collection objectives and the criteria for conducting site investigation activities at CAU 342, the Area 23 Mercury Fire Training Pit (FTP), which is located in Area 23 at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The NTS is approximately 88 kilometers (km) (55 miles [mi]) northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada (Figure 1-1 and Figure 1-2). Corrective Action Unit 342 is comprised of CAS 23-56-01. The FTP is an area approximately 100 meters (m) by 140 m (350 feet [ft] by 450 ft) located west of the town of Mercury, Nevada, which was used between approximately 1965 and 1990 to train fire-fighting personnel (REECo, 1991; Jacobson, 1991). The surface and subsurface soils in the FTP have likely been impacted by hydrocarbons and other contaminants of potential concern (COPC) associated with bum activities and training exercises in the area. This CAIP presents a plan to investigate the nature and extent of COPCs at the FTP. The purpose of the corrective action investigation described in this CAIP is to: • Identify the presence and nature of COPCs at the FTP. Determine the vertical and lateral extent of COPCs at the CAS.

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Junctioi Air Force; ■ Test Site area • Road or Highway Nevada Test Site

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and debris i Gravel Poles Pile of I, Cable burning posts II — Study area boundary Note: Surface features removed in March 199850 Meters CAU 342, Area 23, Mercury Fire Training Pit

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• Provide sufficient information and data to develop and evaluate appropriate corrective actions for the CAU. This CAIP was developed using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Data Quality Objectives (DQOs) (EPA, 1994) seven-step process to clearly define the goals for collecting and using environmental data and to design a data collection program that will satisfy these goals and uses. A DQO scoping meeting was held prior to preparation of this plan; a brief summary of the DQOs is presented in Section 3.4. The DQOs are included in Appendix A. The scope of this CAIP is to resolve the problem statement identified in the DQO process (see Appendix A) which is that significant volumes and concentrations of hydrocarbons, paints, and possibly other chemicals may have been released at the FTP and that existing data are insufficient to support selection of a corrective action for the CAU. Therefore, the scope of the corrective action investigation at the FTP includes the following elements to answer the problem • Conducting a passive soil gas survey to help identify areas of potential subsurface • Drilling boreholes using a suitable drilling method capable of reaching the expected vertical extent of COPCs, of penetrating potential subsurface geologic anomolies (e.g., caliche or gravel), and of providing suitable core for sample collection and logging of subsurface conditions • Conducting continuous field screening to direct drilling and sampling activities and provide an initial assessment of subsurface impact • Collecting surface and near-surface soil samples for laboratory analysis of environmental and geotechnical parameters • Logging core to assess soil characteristics Section 1.0 of this CAIP provides an introduction to this project, including the purpose and scope for this corrective action investigation. The FFACO (1996) requires that CAIPs address the

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• Health and safety The managerial aspects of this project are discussed in the DOE/NV Project Management Plan (DOE/NV, 1994b), in the site-specific Field Management Plan (to be developed prior to field activities), and in Appendix B. The technical aspects of this CAIP are contained in Sections 3.0 and 4.0 of this document and in the DQO summary presented in Appendix A. General field and laboratory quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) issues, including collection of QC samples, are presented in the Industrial Sites Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) (DOE/NV, 1996c); the methods for field QA/QC are discussed in approved procedures. The health and safety aspects of this project are documented in the Environmental Restoration Project Health and Safety Plan (HASP) (DOE/NV, 1996a) and will be supplemented with a site-specific HASP written prior to the start of field work. No CAU-specific public involvement activities are planned at this time; however, an overview of public involvement is documented in the “Public Involvement Plan” in Appendix V of the FFACO (1996). Field sampling activities are discussed in Section 4.0 of this CAIP; waste management issues are discussed in Section 5.0. The project schedule and records availability information for this CAIP are discussed in Section 6.0, and Section 7.0 provides a list of project references.

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The FTP is located in Area 23 of the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nevada, west of the town of Mercury and just off the Mercury bypass highway. The site is approximately 146 m by 110 m (480 ft by 360 ft) and is partially fenced. The site is bounded on the east and west by washes and on the north and south by desert. The FTP is located on an alluvial fan that slopes southwest from Red Mountain (carbonate rock) toward Mercury Valley. The elevation at the site is approximately 1,140 m (3,740 ft) above sea level (USGS, 1983a; USGS, 1983b). The depth to water below ground surface (bgs) is approximately 355 m (1165 ft) as measured in Well SM-23-1, the nearest well located approximately 1.6 km (1 mi) from the site. The near-surface alluvium in Area 23 is composed of silty sands containing abundant gravel and cobbles. Some boulders, up to 1 m (3 ft) in diameter, have been noted (DOE/NV, 1997a). Localized caliche development may be present in the near surface and is observed in the boreholes drilled to install neutron access tubes for monitoring moisture conditions at CAU 112, These trenches are located approximately 0.8 km (0.5 mi) west-southwest of the FTP. The FTP was used for fire suppression training from the early 1960s until operations ended at the facility in 1992. The exact date of the initial FTP use is uncertain; however, interviews with site personnel suggested the initial start sometime between 1963 and 1965 (REECo, 1991; Jacobson, 1991). The FTP was used only occasionally from 1988 until 1992 and is currently inactive. Fire training events were conducted on a monthly, and sometimes weekly, basis. Typical bum fuels included off-specification or rust and/or water-contaminated gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel (JP-4). Paint from the paint shop was also burned at the site. In addition to regular fire

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training exercises, special bum events were conducted as follows (REECo, 1991; Jacobson, • In 1984, four tires were burned on two different occasions. • In January, 1989, Los Alamos National Laboratory staff conducted a test bum of a 30-m by 40-m (100-ft by 130-ft) polyvinylchloride pond liner. The exact location of this bum event is unknown. as wood, paper, or cloth) was possibly burned at the FTP. No records were found indicating the exact materials or the date of the event. • Lawrence Livermore Laboratory conducted a test bum of copper cable to determine the effects of fire on the cable insulation. Approximately 25 pieces of 3.7-m to 4.3-m (12-ft to 14-ft) long cable were burned. The site was also used for training first responders in handling vehicle accidents and extraction equipment (such as the “jaws of life”) was …