IOWA ARMY
AMMUNITION PLANT
IOWA

EPA ID# IA7213820445

EPA Region 7
City: Middletown
County: Des Moines County
10 miles west of Burlington
Other Names:

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SITE DESCRIPTION

The Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAP) is a 19,127 acre site that was listed on the Superfund
NPL in 1990. The IAAP is an active manufacturing facility. The primary activity at the IAAP
since 1941 has been to load, assemble, and pack a variety of conventional ammunition and
fusing systems for the Department of Defense. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) operated
at Line 1 of the IAAP from 1948 to 1975 assembling nuclear weapons. Because of past AEC
activity at the site, portions of the IAAP have been designated for inclusion in the Army Corps of
Engineers Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The FUSRAP was
created to evaluate and remediate environmental impacts associated with past AEC operations.
Wastes produced at IAAP consist of various explosive-laden sludges, wastewaters, and solids,
lead-contaminated sludges, ashes from incineration and open burning of explosives, and waste
solvents from industrial and laboratory operations. Past operations also generated waste
pesticides and incendiaries. Radioactive wastes may have been generated by AEC weapons
assembly operations. The Army has identified a number of potentially contaminated areas at the
IAAP, including 2 abandoned explosive-wastewater settling lagoons, the Line 800 Pinkwater
Lagoon and the fomer Line 1 Impoundment. These lagoons were used to settle out
explosives-contaminated wastewaters prior to discharge into Brush Creek until approximately
1957. Approximately 80,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments were held in the lagoons,
which have since been remediated. Approximately 100 people live within 3 miles of the site.
Some obtain drinking water from private wells. In the spring of 1993, the Army analyzed water
samples from the wells of residences located just south of the IAAP. Two of the wells were
found to contain explosives at levels exceeding health advisory limits. The Army offered
alternate water supplies to all potentially impacted residents south of the IAAP and provided
connections for all residents who so desired. Surface water within 3 miles downstream of the
site is used for recreational activities.

Site Responsibility:


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This site is being addressed by the Army with
oversight by the EPA and the Iowa Department of
Natural Resources. The Iowa Department of
Public Health provides oversight of matters
associated with possible radiological
contamination.

NPL LISTING HISTORY
Proposed Date: 07/14/89
Final Date:	08/30/90

Deleted Date:

THREATS AND CONTAMINANTS

The Army conducted tests from 1981 to 1984 and detected explosives from
former waste disposal practices in surface water and in groundwater monitoring
wells downgradient of the Line 800 Pinkwater Lagoon and the Line 1
Impoundment. In 1984, the Army detected explosives and lead in creek
sediments. In 1993, the Army connected approximately 150 residences south of
the IAAP to an alternate water supply due to actual and potential contamination of
groundwater with explosives. Additional residents were provided an alternate
water supply in the fall of 2001. Investigations to define the nature and extent of
groundwater contamination off-post have been completed. The remedy to address
this contamination was selected in August 2005 and is currently being
implemented.

CLEANUP APPROACH

Response Action Status

Interim Actions: In the summer of 1995, the Army completed interim cleanup actions to address
soil contamination at a former pesticide disposal pit and at numerous explosive-wastewater sump
locations. An additional interim action was initiated in the spring of 1996, in which
approximately 83,000 cubic yards of explosives-contaminated soils and sediments from the
former Line 1 Impoundment Area and the Line 800 Pinkwater Lagoon were excavated and
disposed of on-site. Soils were segregated and disposed of according to their levels of risk. The
most highly contaminated material has been temporarily stockpiled for treatment, which should
begin in the spring of 2009. Mid-level waste materials have been permanently disposed on-site
in a lined soil repository that has been built adjacent to the IAAP former Inert Disposal Landfill.
The excavation of contaminated soils from the Line 1 and Line 800 areas was completed in the
summer of 1997. The excavated areas at Lines 1 and 800 have been transformed into wetland
areas. In the spring of 1998, the Army began implementation of a cleanup approach similar to


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that used at Line 1 and 800 at over 200 other individual source areas. A Record of Decision
(ROD) for this action was signed in March 1998. Based on this ROD, over 215,000 cubic yards
of soils contaminated primarily with explosives and metals have been excavated from different
areas of the IAAP during various phases of field work efforts. Most recently, approximately
17,000 cubic yards of contaminated soils were excavated and disposed at the Inert Disposal
Landfill in late 2006 thru early 2007. This should complete the cleanup of soils under the
Operable Unit 1 ROD. A portion of the excavated soils were treated on-site to address metals
and explosives contamination in late-2001. As previously noted, approximately 15,000 cubic
yards of contaminated soil remain stockpiled awaiting treatment, which should begin in the
spring of 2009. A cleanup of solvent and fuel contaminated soils from past operation at the Fire
Training Pit was completed in mid-1999.

Entire Site: In 1990, the Army began a study to determine the nature and extent of contamination
at the site and identified 43 individual areas requiring investigation. With the assistance of the
EPA, samples were collected from these potential areas of contamination. After analyzing these
samples, the EPA and the Army determined that approximately three-quarters of the areas
needed further investigation. A site-wide investigation was completed in 1994. The Army
completed a supplemental field effort in the spring of 1997 to better define the extent of
contamination. Significant volumes of contaminated soils from the former Line 1 Impoundment
Area and the Line 800 Pinkwater Lagoon have been addressed through early response actions.
Cleanup of additional soil contamination addressed by the 1998 ROD was completed by the
Army in early 2007. Offsite groundwater sampling in the summer of 1999 indicated the
presence of low levels of explosives in groundwater near Brush Creek, south of the IAAP. A
remedy to address explosives groundwater contamination south of the IAAP was selected in
mid-2005. The remedy includes enhanced biodegradation, monitored natural attenuation, and
institutional controls, and is currently being implemented. Additional investigation of past AEC
operations at the plant, especially at Line 1 and the Firing Site, are being addressed under
FUSRAP. Chunks of depleted uranium were reported at the Firing Site in the fall of 2000,
prompting increased focus on this area. Access to this area has been restricted and is the subject
of additional investigation. FUSRAP began work in late-2008 to remove contaminated soils
from Line 1 and the West Burn Pads Area South of the Road, based on the OU1 ROD. This
contaminated soil is being disposed at the Inert Disposal Landfill. FUSRAP cleanup of Line 1
and the West Burn Pads should conclude in the spring of 2009.


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Site Facts: The IAAP was proposed for the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989. A Federal
Facility Agreement (FFA) was negotiated between EPA and the Army in late
1990. The FFA defines roles and responsibilites for the Army's cleanup work at
the site, and defines a process for inter-agency coordination. Funding to address
environmental investigations and cleanups at the IAAP is provided through the
Defense Environmental Restoration Program, a program established to identify,
investigate, and control hazardous contaminants at DoD facilities. In 2006, the
EPA, the state of Iowa, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of
Energy signed a second FFA for the IAAP which addresses FUSRAP
investigatory and cleanup work at the site.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS

The various interim actions completed at the IAAP site, including the removal of
sources of explosives and metals in soils, and the installation of alternate water supplies for
potentially impacted residents, has reduced the potential threats to people and the environment
while further cleanup actions are being planned and implemented.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT	

A Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) has been formed by the Army and operating at the site for
several years. The RAB provides an opportunity for community involvement in cleanup
activities at the site. The RAB meets on a quarterly basis and is generally well attended.
Interested persons should contact the IAAP or the EPA if they would like to participate on the
RAB.


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SITE REPOSITORY

Main Administration Building, Iowa Superfund Records Center
Army Ammunition Plant, Middletown, 901 N. 5th St.

IA 5263 8	Kansas City, KS 66101

Danville Iowa City Hall, Danville, IA Mail Stop SUPR
Burlington Public Library, Burlington, (913)551-7166
IA

REGIONAL CONTACTS

SITE MANAGER:

E-MAIL ADDRESS:

PHONE NUMBER:

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

COORDINATOR:

PHONE NUMBER:

E-MAIL ADDRESS:

Scott Marquess
marquess.scott@epa.gov
(913) 551-7131

Debbie Kring

(913)551-7725
kring.debbie@epa.gov

STATE CONTACT:

PHONE NUMBER:

Dan McGhee, Iowa Department of Public
Health / Dan Cook Iowa Department of Natural
Resources

(515)281-0411 /(515)281-4171

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

STATE:	IA

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:	02

EPA ORGANIZATION:	SFD- SUPR/FF SE

MODIFICATIONS

Created by:	Karla	Created Date:	10/17/97 03:19 PM

Asberry/SUPRFUND/R7/US
EPA/US

Last Modified by: Scott	Last Modified Date: 03/04/2009 11:52 AM

Marquess/SUPR/R7/U SEP A


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