Rogers, Michael J NAB02 wrote:
(July 1, 1999)
Hello Ed, I am a Project Manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and I manage environmental restoration activities at Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS). I have several Nike sites in the Baltimore/Washington area on my inventory of projects, and one in particular at which we are currently doing some investigative work. I was just visiting your Internet site, looking for some information, and thought I'd drop you a line to see if you have any information about acid neutralization activities at Nike sites. At this site, there is a large concrete pad with concrete curbing and concrete ditches around it. Drawings we found for the pad show two locations at the edge of the pad labeled "Acid & J.P. Fueling Station." The concrete pad is pitched to a low point, and there is a note on the drawings "Acid Neutralization Pit." On the drawings, A culvert collects water from the concrete ditches and drains it to the edge of the site, where there was apparently another concrete ditch running around the perimeter of the site. We are trying to determine if the pad itself was the "pit" or if there might be a concrete structure underneath that pad that was used to contain acid runoff. We also want to try to understand what the process/function was at this pad, what was done, where the fluids went, in order to try and understand if there may have been some contamination of the ground in this area. Do you have any information about acid neutralization activities at Nike sites? Michael J. Rogers, P.E. Programs and Project Management Division US Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District Michael.J.Rogers@usace.army.mil 410-962-3528 voice 410-962-9312 fax |
Bud Halsey responded
(July 2, 1999)
Michael...
...
I have been asked that same question by dozens of federal, state and
private toxic cleanup agencies (to include FUDS) who have encountered
site maps of former Nike missile sites with reference to "acid pits" or
"acid storage sheds" and are curious as to what they were, how they were
used and whether possible toxic elements still remain on the site.
First, those sites are usually sites that were armed with the Nike Ajax
missile (some sites were later converted to Nike Hercules missiles).
The Nike Ajax was a liquid fueled missile, and each launching area had a
"fueling area" on the site. Each fueling area was located behind an
earthen berm and had a large concrete pad where the fueling stands were
located. There was a "hump" that rose above the pad that then became a
"dip" (often identified with the term "acid neutralization pit"). The
empty missiles were driven on trailers up onto the "hump" (to facilitate
fueling and allow complete filling of the fuel tanks), fueled, and then
driven down the hump, through the pit, and on out to the launcher area.
The fuel used was a mixture of JP4 (kerosene) and UDMH (undiluted
dimethylhydrazene), and, from a separate fuel stand, an oxidizer, INRFRA
(inhibited red fuming nitric acid), was pumped into the missile into a
separate tank. Both the fuel and oxidizer were extremely hazardous to
handle, so the fueling personnel wore cumbersome fueling suits and a
breathing apparatus and exercised great care in this fueling operation.
In the unlikely event of a fuel or oxidizer spill, the liquids would run
(by gravity) into the "acid neutralization pit" and would be flushed
with water. The flushed acid/water mixture would then drain into
concrete culverts and be "washed away". There was no hidden collection
tank beneath the pit to capture this runoff. We were not so
sophisticated in those days and not so toxic oriented. Keep in mind,
most of the liquid fueled Nike Ajax missiles were deactivated and
replaced by solid fueled Nike Hercules missiles over 35 years ago, so
this chemical has long since disappeared or been turned into less toxic
material by the flushing action of water.
The "Acid & J.P.(sic) Fueling
Station" shown on your map is where the fueling/acid stands were
located. The curbs on the concrete pad were to keep them from binding
on the "hump" or falling into the "pit". I presume "J.P." on your
drawing refers to JP4, the bulk of the fuel used.
At site SF-88 in San Francisco, we have been checked and rechecked
for possible toxic contamination literally dozens of times, and have
never uncovered any form of contamination in the fueling area, We
either were incredibly lucky in the 9 years of use of the liquid fuel
and acid by having no fuel or acid spills, or the chemicals/acids have
deteriorated into non-toxic substances in the 35+ years since they were
used.
My experience with this site, and dozens of others nationwide, is
that there is a greater threat to toxic pollution from lead-based paint,
asbestos, PCBs and spilled solvents or MOGAS/diesel fuel within a Nike
Site, than the possibility of pollution in the fueling area.
If you need further information on this subject, please let me know.
Bud Halsey
Site Manager, Nike Missile Site SF-88, GGNRA, National Park Service
|
Also see Nike Ajax liquid fuel
If you have comments or suggestions, Send e-mail to Ed Thelen