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Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit Numbers 438, 439, 440, and 470: Rainier Mesa Mudpits Nevada Test Site - January 1998 - Revision: 1)

Dated
Jan 31, 1998
Document type
Plan
Length
66 pages
Open the original scanArchive record OSTI ID 16019691 · public domain

Document text

Machine-read from the scan, so expect some errors. Lines that couldn’t be read are left out.

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U.S. Department of Energy 100 N. City Parkway, Suite 1750 Southern Nevada Public Reading Facility c/o Nuclear Testing Archive Northern Nevada Public Reading Facility c/o Nevada State Library and Archives SUBMITTAL OF FINAL DOCUMENTS TO THE PUBLIC READING FACILITIES The Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) requires that the enclosed list of documents are available to the public through the FFACO Public Reading Facilities. The following copies are being provided for submittal into the FFACO Public Reading Facility collection in accordance with the FFACO Agreement. This electronic submittal will be the final submittal for these documents. DOCUMENT NUMBER AND TITLE DOCUMENT DATE No Document Number: Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit Numbers 438, 439, 440 and 470: Rainier Mesa Mudpits, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Revision 1, January 1998 No Document Number: Corrective Action Decision Document/Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit Numbers 438, 439, 440 and 470: Rainier Mesa Mudpits, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Revision 0, September 1998 DOE/NV-603-ROTC 1: Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit 342: Area 23 Mercury Fire Training Pit Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Revision 0, DOE/NV/11718-226-ROTC 1: Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit 426: Cactus Spring Waste Trenches, Tonopah Test Range, Nevada, DOE/NV/11718-226-ROTC 1: Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit 426: Cactus Spring Waste Trenches, Tonopah Test Range, Nevada,

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Multiple Addressees -2- May 2, 2022 Please note that there are two ROTCs included with this submittal for the CAU 426: Cactus Spring Waste Trenches (Document #DOE/NV/11718-226 UC-702) labeled as ROTC 1. One is dated June 13, 2000 and the second is dated November 19, 2019. Both ROTCs are correct and should be included in the record for CAU 426. Please contact Carol Dinsman at (702)724-0832 if further information on this matter is needed. Deputy Program Manager, Operations EMO:14736.CD EM Nevada Program Christine Andres, NDEP Mary Murphy, NDEP Gail Tackett, NDEP Navarro Central Files Navarro Document Production (electronic copy to OSTI) FFACO Group, EM Carol Dinsman, EM Tiffany Gamero, EM Bill Wilborn, EM

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DEFENSE SPECIAL WEAPONS AGENCY FIELD COMMAND. NEVADA OPERATIONS OFFICE Bureau of Federal Facilities Division of Environmental Protection State of Nevada 333 West Nye Lane SUBJECT:/CORREC3WE ACTION INVESTIGATION PLAN FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION UNIT NUMBERS 438,439,440, AND 470: RAINIER MESA MUDPITS, NEVADA TEST SITE, Enclosed for your review is controlled copy number 2 of the subject final document. Due to the similarity of historical operations and the proposed investigation approach for each mudpit, as well as their geographic proximity, the corrective action investigations for these Corrective Action Units have been addressed under a single Corrective Action Investigation The Corrective Action Investigation Plan has been revised to include Corrective Action Unit Number 470 for the reasons stated above: similarity in historical operations, investigation approach, and geographic proximity to Corrective Action Units 438, 439, and 440. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 295-0696 or Wayne Griffin Nevada Test Site Environmental, Safety & Health Division QUALITY—The Cornerstone Of Our Command

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CORRECTIVE ACTION INVESTIGATION PLAN FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION UNIT NUMBERS RAINIER MESA MUDPITS, NEVADA TEST SITE Defense Special Weapons Agency Environmental Restoration Directorate Brooks Air Force Base, Texas Controlled Copy No. 2707 Craig Road, Suite C North Las Vegas, Nevada 89030

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CORRECTIVE ACTION INVESTIGATION PLAN FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION UNIT NUMBERS 438, 439, 440,AND 470: RAINIER MESA MUDPITS, NEVADA TEST SITE Chief, Defense Special Weapons Agency Nevada Test Site Environmental Safety and Health Division Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence

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REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED January 1998 Revised Final - January 1998 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Corrective Action Investigation Plan for Corrective Action Unit Numbers 438, 439,440 and 470: Rainier Mesa Thomas Wilczek and Robert Curiale IT Corporation, Las Vegas, Nevada 2707 Craig Road, Suite C North Las Vegas, Nevada 89030 Defense Special Weapons Agency, Field Command Nevada Operations Office, P.O. Box 208, Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence Brooks Air Force Base, Texas AGENCY REPORT NUMBER This Corrective Action Investigation Plan (CAIP) has been prepared for the Defense Special Weapons Agency (DSWA) through contract to the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence (AFCEE). The recommendations and corrective actions described within this plan apply to the investigation and future closure of five mudpits which are the responsibility of DSWA. These mudpits are located on Rainier Mesa in Area 12 of the Nevada Test Site. The mudpits addressed in this CAIP are associated with underground nuclear tests conducted in Rainier Mesa tunnels. The mudpits were used for the disposal of effluent from the drilling process. All work will be performed for the DSWA, a multiservice agency of the Department of Defense. Sampling Plan, Mudpits, Tunnels, Nevada Test Site, Nuclear 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 52 OF THIS PAGE 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT

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Table of Contents List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. iii List of Tables................................................................................................................................ iii List of Acronyms and Abbreviations.............................................................................................iv 3.2 Contaminants of Potential Concern............................................................................ 13 3.3 Preliminary Action Levels.......................................................................................... 14 3.4 Data Quality Objectives.............................................................................................. 16 3.4.2 Identification of Decision .............................................................................. 17 3.4.3 Identification oflnputs to the Decision.......................................................... 17 3.4.4 Definition of Study Boundaries...................................................................... 17 3.4.5 Development ofDecision Rules and Decision Error Limits.......................... 17 3.4.6 Optimization of Design for Obtaining Data .................................................. 18

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Table of Contents (Continued) 4.1.2 Sample Collection and Compositing............................................................. 21 5.2 Potential Waste Streams ........................................................................................... 24 Appendix A - Data Quality Objectives/Process and Methodology............................................ 33 Appendix D - Waste Management Field Instructions................................................................. 42 Page ii of v Appendix E - NDEP Comment Review 48

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List of Figures Number Title Page 1-1 General Location Map, Rainier Mesa Mudpits, Nevada Test Site ........................ 2 1-2 Project Management Organizational Flow Chart....................................................4 2-1 Site-Specific Location Map, Rainier Mesa Mudpits, Nevada Test Site ................ 7 3-1 Mudpit Conceptual Model, Rainier Mesa Mudpits, Nevada Test Site .................11 4-1 Borehole Locations, Rainier Mesa Mudpits, Nevada Test Site............................ 20 4-2 SampleCompositingStrategy, Rainier Mesa Mudpits, Nevada Test Site .......... 22 List of Tables Number Title Page 2-1 Mudpit Information Summary................................................................................ 8 3-1 Site Characterization Laboratory Analytical Requirements .................................15 C-l Conversion Table for English/Metric Units.......................................................... 41 Page iii of v

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Page iv of v List of Acronyms and Abbreviations AFCEE Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence amsl Above mean sea level CADD Corrective Action Decision Document CAI Corrective Action Investigation CAIP Corrective Action Investigation Plan CAS Corrective Action Site(s) CAU Corrective Action Unit(s) CMA Corrective Measures Alternatives COC Constituents) of Concern DNA Defense Nuclear Agency DoD United States Department of Defense DOE United States Department of Energy DOE/NV United States Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office DOT United States Department of Transportation dpm Disintegrations per minute DQO Data quality objective(s) DSWA Defense Special Weapons Agency EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency ERCAP Emergency Response and Contingency Action Plan FFACO Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order HWAA Hazardous Waste Accumulation Area IT IT Coiporation

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List of Acronyms and Abbreviations (continued) NAC Nevada Administrative Code NDEP Nevada Division of Environmental Protection NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NTS Nevada Test Site NTSWAC Nevada Test Site Waste Acceptance Criteria ORERP Offsite Radiation Exposure Review Project PED Photoionization Detector PPE Personal Protective Equipment ppm Parts per million PRO Preliminary Remediation Goal(s) QAPP Quality Assurance Project Plan QA/QC Quality assurance and quality control RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act RPD Relative Percent Difference RSN Raytheon Services Nevada SAA Satellite Accumulation Area SAP Sampling and Analysis Plan SI System International SSERCAP Site-Specific Emergency Response and Contingency Action Plan SSHASP Site-Specific Health and Safety Plan SVOC Semivolatile organic compound(s) TID Tamper Indicating Device VOC Volatile organic compound(s)

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Section: Executive Summary This Corrective Action Investigation Plan (CAIP) has been prepared for the Defense Special Weapons Agency (DSWA) through contract to the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence (AFCEE). The recommendations and corrective actions described within this plan apply to the investigation and future closure of five mudpits which are the responsibility of DSWA. These mudpits are located on Rainier Mesa in Area 12 of the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The DSWA is a multiservice agency of the United States (U.S.) Department of Defense (DoD), and while the NTS is not an Air Force Base, DSWA has access to AFCEE contractors through an infer-service agreement with Nellis Air Force Base. This CAIP is consistent with the requirements of the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO, 1996), signed by the DoD, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP). David A. Bedsun, Chief, DSWA, NTS Environmental Safety and Health Division, is the NTS point of contact and project manager. Jonathan Haliscak is the AFCEE Contracting Officer’s Representative.

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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 signed by the United States (U.S.) Department of Defense (DoD), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP). As stated in the FFACO, the CAIP is a document that provides or references all of the specific information for planning investigation activities associated with Corrective Action Units (CAUs) or Corrective Action Sites (CASs) (FFACO, 1996). According to the FFACO, CASs are sites such as solid waste management units or individual disposal or release sites which may require corrective action(s). 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 four CAUs: Numbers 438,439, 440, and 470. These CAUs include five mudpits located on the surface of Rainier Mesa within Area 12 of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) in Nye County, Nevada. Due to the similarity of historical operations and the geographic proximity of the mudpits, the corrective action investigations proposed for these CAUs have been addressed under a single CAIP. The general location of these CAUs is shown on Figure 1-1, and a description of each CAU is presented in the following text: • Corrective Action Unit No. 438 is comprised of a single CAS, Number 12-09-02, a mudpit that contains drilling circulation mud and formation cuttings from a borehole drilled for post-shot work associated with underground nuclear weapons effects tests conducted in E-Tunnel by the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) (predecessor to the Defense Special Weapons Agency [DSWA]). • Corrective Action Unit No. 439 is comprised of two CASs, Numbers 12-09-05 and 12-09-07. These CASs are mudpits associated with drilling operations conducted by the DNA in support of weapons effects testing at N-Tunnel. • Corrective Action Unit No. 440 is comprised of one CAS, Number 12-09-06, a single mudpit believed to be associated with drillhole U-12t.09 at T-Tunnel.• • Corrective Action Unit No. 470 is comprised of one CAS, Number 12-30-15, a single mudpit believed to be associated with drilling activities at Uel2t.05 L/O.

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•Nevada Test Site boundary GENERAL LOCATION MAP, Test Site ---------------Area boundary RAINIER MESA MUDPITS, 24 Kilometers II INTERNATIONAL

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The purpose of this investigation is to collect and analyze environmental samples to assess the nature and extent of suspected constituents of concern (COC) in each mudpit. Analytical data will be used to support decisions regarding a potential closure method for the mudpit (e.g., clean closure or closure in place). Characterization data will also be used to estimate the volume of contaminated soil and debris, to develop closure strategies, and to adequately characterize the site so Corrective Measures Alternatives (CMA) can be evaluated and criteria selected. This plan was developed using the Data Quality Objectives (DQO) process. A summary of the results of the DQO process is presented in Section 3.4 with a detailed discussion of the application of the DQO methodology to this particular situation given in Appendix A. The investigation scope for each mudpit includes the following elements: • Advancing investigative boreholes through the mudpit contents into underlying native • Conducting field screening of core samples to evaluate the potential for COCs • Collecting near-surface and subsurface soil samples from mudpit cores • Analyzing soil samples in the laboratory The FFACO requires that CAIPs address the following elements: • Health and safety The managerial organization for the mudpit sampling event is illustrated by the flow chart on Figure 1-2. The technical aspects of the corrective action investigation are described in Sections 3.0 and 4.0 of this document. General field and laboratory quality assurance and quality

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Quality Assurance Officer Contractor Health & Safety Officer Corrective Action Investigation Contractor Protect Manager Defense Special Weapons Agency Nevada Test Site Environmental Safety and Health Division Defense Special Weapons Agency Nevada Test Site Environmental Safety and Health Division ORGANIZATIONAL FLOW CHART

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control (QA/QC) issues are presented in selected sections of the Industrial Sites Quality Assurance Project Plan (DOE/NV, 1996c) as well as in this CAIP. Although all the CAU mudpits are DSWA sites and not DOE industrial sites, the general corrective action investigation approach used for both DSWA and DOE sites at the NTS is similar enough that the Industrial Sites Quality Assurance Project Plan guidance is applicable for this sampling event. In addition, quahty control guidelines for laboratory analyses of nonradiological parameters were obtained from the AFCEE Quality Assurance Project Plan (AFCEE, 1997). The specific aspects of field QA/QC are contained in DSWA-approved contractor procedures. The health and safety protocol to be followed for this project is documented in applicable sections of the Environmental Restoration Project Health and Safety Plan (DOE/NV, 1996a) and will also be supplemented with a DSWA Site-Specific Health and Safety Plan (SSHASP) written prior to commencement 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, and the project schedule and records availability information are discussed in Section 6.0. Project references are provided in Section 7.0. A detailed discussion of data quality objectives/process and methodology as applied to this project is included as Appendix A. Appendix B includes the project organization, and a list of the English- to-metric unit conversions used throughout the CAIP text is in Appendix C. Appendix D describes the waste management field instructions for site personnel. Appendix E is a copy of the NDEP review comments for Revision 0 of this document.

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Corrective Action Units 438, 439, 440, and 470 are located on Rainier Mesa, a prominent physiographic plateau located within Area 12 in the north-central portion of the NTS (Figure 1-1). Rainier Mesa is approximately 85 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Figure 2-1 illustrates the location of the mudpits relative to roads and other physical features on Rainier Between 1964 and 1992, Rainier Mesa was used by the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV), the Atomic Energy Commission (DOE’s predecessor), and the DNA for underground nuclear tests expended in horizontal tunnels bored into the eastern side of The mudpits addressed in this CAIP are associated with drillholes related to underground nuclear tests conducted in Rainier Mesa tunnels. The mudpits were used for …

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