PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA
YUMA, ARIZONA

CONCLUSIONS

Based on a thorough evaluation of available environmental information, ATSDR has reached the following conclusions.

1. Exposure to contaminated groundwater does not currently pose, has not posed in the past, and will not pose in the future a public health hazard. No contaminated wells are used for drinking water, and current and planned remediation and containment measures will ensure that there are no future exposures to contaminated groundwater. Should new wells be drilled at MCAS Yuma, the potential for exposure to contaminated groundwater should be reevaluated.

2. Potential exposure to ACM at the Radar Hill Disposal Area is currently, and has been in the past, sufficiently limited as to pose no past or current public health hazard. ATSDR recommends that additional warning signs be installed at Site 4B to help ensure limited potential exposure until cleanup of ACM is complete.

3. Exposure to ACM at the Radar Hill Disposal Area in the future will pose no public health hazard because no ACM will be present at the site once planned remediation activities have been completed.

4. In 1977 or 1978, approximately 300 pounds of dry crystal tear gas components were reportedly buried at OU2 Site 12 (Tear Gas Burial Area) (see Appendix A). Although the reports of tear gas disposal could not be verified, precautionary measures should be taken for future excavations at this site.

5. Past exposure to organic lead in the surface soil at the Flight Line was quite limited and therefore did not likely pose a public health hazard. Past exposure to organic lead in the surface soil may have also been limited at the Fire School Area and Shops Area. ATSDR does not have sufficient information, however, to evaluate past public health hazards associated with exposure to organic lead in surface soil at these two areas. ATSDR, therefore, concludes that past exposures at these areas pose an indeterminate public health hazard. No public health hazards are associated with current or future exposures to organic lead in soil because the contaminated areas have been paved over or have restricted access and use.

PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION PLAN

The public health action plan (PHAP) for MCAS Yuma contains a description of actions taken at the station and those to be taken at the station subsequent to the completion of this PHA. The purpose of the PHAP is to ensure that this PHA not only identifies potential and ongoing public health hazards but also provides a plan of action designed to mitigate and prevent adverse human health effects resulting from exposure to hazardous substances in the environment. The following public health actions at MCAS Yuma are completed, ongoing, or planned:

Completed Actions

Groundwater

1. Extensive testing was performed to assess potential groundwater contamination.
2. Remediation of BTEX at Areas 5 (Motor Transportation Pool plume) and 7 (Exchange Service Station plume) has been completed under the UST program using air sparging and vapor extraction. The Navy has recommended continued monitoring, natural attenuation, and biosparging (JEG, 1996; Yuma, 1998a).

   ACM at Radar Hill Disposal Area

1. Extensive testing was performed to assess potential exposure to ACM. A ROD was signed in late 1997 requiring the cleanup of surface and soil ACM.

   Organic Lead in Surface Soil

1. Testing was performed in 1995 at 11 sites that were suspected of having vehicle-related waste streams.

   Other Sites

1. Extensive testing was performed to assess potential public health hazards at other sites of possible concern (see Appendix A for details).

Ongoing and Planned Actions

Groundwater

1. The Navy is actively remediating Area 4 (Fuel Farm Area plume) under the UST program using air sparging and vapor extraction. Also under the UST program, the Navy is remediating Area 8 (plume in vicinity of Building 310) using vapor extraction and pumping. The Navy plans to complete remediation of Area 8 by the end of 1998 (OHM, 1998a)
2. Remediation and containment has begun for contaminated groundwater plumes not covered by the UST program, and full remedial alternatives are being evaluated for the FS. The FS for OU1 will soon be completed and the Proposed Plan will outline a plan for the Navy to remediate the contaminated plumes through a combination of active measures and monitored natural attenuation. Since Area 1 (plume in vicinity of Building 230) has reached the station perimeter, the plan calls for the Navy to contain this plume through the use of vertical recirculation wells. The Navy plans to remediate hot spots in Area 1 plume through mass removal (AS/SVE). After a five-year review, if natural attenuation has not been successful in the center of this plume and in other plume areas, a contingency plan calls for the Navy to remediate contamination using pump-and-treat techniques (Yuma,1998a; JEG, 1998a).

   ACM at Radar Hill Disposal Area

1. ACM and ACM-contaminated soil will be removed and disposed of at a permitted facility.

   Organic Lead in Surface Soil

1. If the restricted access and use changes in the future, ATSDR recommends further site characterization for areas with soil contaminated by organic lead.

Other Sites

1. The Navy will remediate and/or further investigate the following sites: OU2 Site 7 (Fire School Area), OU2 Site 9 (Southeast Sewage Lagoon), FFAAP Unit 855.04 (Battery Shop), and FFAAP Unit 855.19 (Hydraulic Lift). The Navy will place future use restrictions on the following sites: OU1 Site 1 (Flight Line), OU1 Site 8(a) (Southeast Station Landfill), OU1 Site 10 (Ordnance Munitions Disposal Area), FFAAP Unit 327.03 (Drum Storage Area), FFAAP Unit 9005.00 (Transformer Storage Yard), and FFAAP Unit F808.00 (Former Pesticide Control Shop). Appendix A contains further information on all of the sites.
2. The findings of this PHA have been reviewed by the other Divisions of ATSDR to determine if any follow-up activities are recommended for MCAS Yuma. No follow-up activities were recommended.

PREPARERS OF REPORT

Amanda Stoddard, MPH
Environmental Health Scientist
Federal Facilities Assessment Branch
Division of Health Assessment and Consultation

Gary Campbell, PhD
Environmental Health Scientist
Federal Facilities Assessment Branch
Division of Health Assessment and Consultation

REFERENCES

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 1997. Toxicological profile for lead. Draft for public comment (update). 1997.

American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). 1993. Documentation of the threshold limit values and biological exposure indices. 6th Edition. 1993.

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). 1997. Soil Remediation Standards Rule. December, 1997.

Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). 1998. From http://www.dmp.csiro.au/safety/lead.htm. 1998.

Bureau of the Census (Census). 1991. Census of population and housing, 1990: summary tape file 1A (Arizona) [machine-readable data files]. Washington, D.C. 1991.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 1991. Preventing lead poisoning in young children. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.

The Earth Technology Corporation. 1991. Evaluation of background metals concentrations in Arizona soils. Prepared for Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Groundwater Hydrology Section. June 1991.

Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). 1998. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 1998.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc (JEG). 1996. Final remedial investigation report, MCAS Yuma. March 26, 1996.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc (JEG). 1998a. Telephone communication with Gary Kiger, Project Manager. February 18, 1998.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc (JEG). 1998b. Telephone communication with Gary Kiger, Project Manager. February 3, 1998.

MCAS Yuma. 1997a. Telephone communication with Larry Leake, IR Program Manager. December 5, 1997.

MCAS Yuma. 1997b. Telephone communication with Larry Leake, IR Program Manager. November 17, 1997.

MCAS Yuma. 1998a. Telephone communication with Larry Leake, IR Program Manager. February 3, 1998.

MCAS Yuma. 1998b. Telephone communication with Larry Leake, IR Program Manager. February 24, 1998.

MCAS Yuma. 1998c. Telephone communication with Larry Leake, IR Program Manager. January 13, 1998.

MCAS Yuma. 1998d. Telephone communication with Larry Leake, IR Program Manager. February 2, 1998.

MCAS Yuma. 1998e. Telephone communication with Mark Smith, Housing Manager. February 3, 1998.

MCAS Yuma. 1998f. Telephone communication with Mark Rhodes, Environmental Protection Specialist. February 3, 1998.

MCAS Yuma. 1998g. Telephone communication with Pat Queen, Facilities Support Contracts Manager. February 3, 1998.

MCAS Yuma. 1998h. Telephone communication with Pat Toomey, Management Analyst. February 4, 1998.

MCAS Yuma. 1998i. Correspondence with Larry Leake, IR Program Manager. February 25, 1998.

MCAS Yuma. 1998j. Comments on the initial release draft of the ATSDR public health assessment for MCAS Yuma. 1998.

MCAS Yuma. 1998k. Telephone communication with Larry Leake, IR Program Manager. May 12, 1998.

OHM Remediation Services Corp. 1997. Groundwater plume map for MCAS Yuma. November, 1997.

OHM Remediation Services Corp. 1998a. Telephone communication with Kris Fabian, Project Manager. February 23, 1998.

OHM Remediation Services Corp. 1998b. Semi-annual groundwater monitoring report. Second semi-annual 1997, Perimeter wells groundwater monitoring program, Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona. February, 1998.

OHM Remediation Services Corp. 1998c. Telephone communication with Peter Everds, Project Contact. August 3, 1998.

Southwest Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command. 1997. Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona--CTO 0302. Federal facilities agreement assessment program, Sampling and analysis report, Final. May 15, 1997.

Stearns, Conrad and Schmidt and Landau Associates. 1985. Initial assessment study of Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona. Prepared for Navy Assessment and Control of Installation Pollutants Department, Naval Energy and Environmental Support Activity, Port Huenem, California. September, 1995.

Uribe & Associates. 1996. Assessment of ACM-contamination at CAOCs 4, 7, and 9, Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona. Prepared for Southwest Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, San Diego, California. April 24, 1996.

Uribe & Associates. 1997a. Final record of decision for operable unit 2, Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona. Prepared for Southwest Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, San Diego, California. December, 1997.

Uribe & Associates. 1997b. Report of supplemental soil sampling program for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at CAOC 10, Operable Unit 2, MCAS Yuma, Yuma, Arizona. Prepared for the Department of the Navy. April 7, 1997.

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