Alabama Army Ammunition Plant

• Site Profile
• Additional Site Documents including Five Year Reviews, Records of Decisions (ROD) and Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD).

Site Background:
Alabama Army Ammunition Plant located in Talladega County, Alabama covers approximately 5170 acres just east of the Coosa River, four miles north of Childersburg. The plant was established in 1941 and used for the manufacture of explosives including trinitrotoluene (TNT), dinitrotoluene (DNT), tetryl, nitrocellulose, and smokeless powder. The Army ceased operations in 1945, but the plant remained on standby status until 1973, when it was declared excess property. Sources of explosives and heavy metal contamination in soil and groundwater include spills, disposalsites, and general wastes from manufacturing processes. Only an estimated 40 residents live within 2 miles of the site. The site has been divided into Areas A and B for cleanup purposes. Area A has been found clear of groundwater contamination. Area A was sold to private residents in 1991 and is currently used for occasional logging and as a wildlife preserve. Groundwater contamination threatens the Coosa River which is used as a source of drinking water for many residents and for recreational purposes. Area B will be cleaned to levels that will allow industrial or recreational use.
Cleanup Progress: Area A – Remedial Action Completed
Thermal treatment of the Area A stockpile soils was completed in the Fall of 1994. Excavation and thermal treatment of explosives contaminated soil from Study Area 12 was completed in 995. EPA and the Army signed a final Record of Decision in April,1997, calling for the cleanup of two small areas with lead and Benz(a)pyrene and "no further action required" for the rest of Area A. All remedial action for Area A was completed in 1998.
Area B: A Record of Decision for an interim remedial action on the soils of the old industrial areas 6, 7, 10 and 21 was signed in 1994. The excavation and thermal treatment of these soils was completed in early 1996. A similar Record of Decision for soil in areas 2, 10, 16, 17, 19, and 22 was signed in March, 1997. The remedial action was completed in September, 1997. A total of approximately 120,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil has been remediated at AAAP between 1994 and 1997.
A Proposed Plan for the completion of soils remediation was issued in 2008.  The final action includes excavation and disposal of PAH contaminated soils in a small (0.5 acre) area in the former smokeless powder manufacturing area along with Land Use Controls for the whole of Area B.
The Department of Defense transferred Area B to the City of Childersburg Local Redevelopment Authority (CLRA) on March 17, 2003. The property will be used as an industrial park while the investigation of contaminated groundwater continues. Investigation of the contaminated groundwater beneath Area B continues. Approximately twenty new groundwater monitoring wells were installed in 2000-2001. The investigation is aimed at determining the extent of the contamination and its potential for impacting drinking and recreational water sources. The investigation has demonstrated that site groundwater is impacted by explosives and lead.  
A Draft Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study was prepared in July 2004. The remedial action objective for the groundwater Feasibility Study is to protect human health and the environment by mitigating exposure pathways to groundwater. Several remedial alternatives will be considered including long term monitoring of onsite groundwater and groundwater exit locations, enhanced bioremediation, land use controls, prevention of off-site migration, and pumping of certain conduit wells.