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U.S. Army Redstone Arsenal
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Northern berm at the Redstone Arsenal site.
- Additional Site Photos
- Site Video
Additional Resources
- Site Cleanup Terms - can be found in EPA's glossary
- EPA Guides to Cleanup Technologies
- Superfund Community Involvement (PDF) (17 pp, 130K, About PDF)
Site Summary Profile
EPA ID: AL7210020742Location: Huntsville, Madison County, AL
Lat/Long: 34.646940, -086.673050
Congressional District: 05
NPL Status: Proposed: 06/23/93; Final 05/31/94
Affected Media: Ground water, Soil
Cleanup Status: Early Action/Initiated/Completed and Study Underway - Physical cleanup activities have started.
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Industrial/Agricultural/Ecological - Several chemical manufacturing and development facilities operate on the site. Approximately 15,500 acres are woodlands, 9,200 are leased for agricultural use, and 4,100 are designated as the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge.
Site Manager: Michelle Thornton (thornton.michelle@epa.gov)
Site Background
The Redstone Arsenal site is located in Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama, and encompasses 38,300 acres, 36,459 of which are controlled by the Department of the Army. The remaining 1,841 acres are leased to the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Since opening in the early 1940s, development within Redstone Arsenal has largely revolved around the historical need to produce, and later dispose of, conventional and chemical munitions. More recently, site operations have been focused on development and testing of missiles and rockets. Most of the Redstone Arsenal’s current industrial tenants support the aviation and missile weapon system effort.
The Installation Restoration Program (IRP) at Redstone Arsenal consists of over 158 active IRP sites which are split between surface media sites and ground water sites. The surface media sites are divided into 20 operable units. Thirteen ground water investigation areas have also been established to address extensive contamination in the complex Karst geology of the region. The Army and NASA cleanup programs are separately funded and operated, with the Army and NASA coordinating on common programmatic needs such as data sharing, and technical issues including ground water, unexploded ordnance, and chemical warfare material contamination characterization and cleanup.
Threats and Contaminants
Contaminants of concern at the Redstone Arsenal site include solvents, metals, pesticides, chemical warfare material, and hazardous remnants from rocket fuel research, development and testing, including perchlorate. These contaminants have impacted ground water, soil, sediments, and surface waters.
Site Cleanup Plan
As part of the site cleanup strategy, EPA identified twenty operable units (OUs). These OUs typically refer to various portions of the site. OU-3, for example, refers to the Former Chemical Training Facility area. Records of Decision (RODs) have been completed for six of the twenty OUs. An Interim ROD was issued for OU-19 (Installation-wide Ground Water) in 2007. Major components of the cleanup approach included:
- Prohibiting the use of ground water at the Arsenal for drinking water purposes (including seeps and springs).
- Controlling the use of Arsenal ground water for non-potable uses in support of the Army's mission.
- Initiation of formal coordination with local government agencies who may conduct activities on or off the Arsenal involving potentially contaminated ground water where the Army is not in control of the action. This objective is to allow consistent review and input by the Army of pending ground water actions to protect human health.
Cleanup Progress
Numerous studies and cleanup actions, led by the Department of the Army, are underway at Redstone Arsenal with oversight by EPA and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). A 2001 Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) integrates NASA's Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the CERCLA/SARA requirements for the Marshall Space Flight Center and provides for enforceable cleanup schedules. Although finalized on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1994, the Army investigation and cleanup activities at Redstone proceed in the absence of a Federal Facility Agreement with EPA and ADEM. Both the Army and NASA have entered into Land Use Control Agreement Plans with EPA to ensure the future integrity and protectiveness of the cleanup actions.
The current focus of investigation by the Army and NASA is on ground water contamination. At the Marshall Space Flight Center, several ground water treatability studies are underway or proposed.
Of the 225 Army media sites, 145 are actively being investigated and numerous removal actions have been completed. In addition, CERCLA Site Assessment activities are ongoing at Redstone Arsenal; approximately one thousand additional areas of potential concern have been identified and reviewed at Redstone Arsenal through archival searches, aerial photograph reviews, and employee interviews.
Of the 158 IRP sites, 11 are Munitions Response Program (MRP) sites, 27 sites have been closed, and 3 sites are undergoing clean-up.
Enforcement Activities
Community Involvement
EPA is conducting a range of community involvement activities at the Redstone Arsenal site to solicit community input and to ensure that the public remains informed about site activities throughout the site cleanup process. Outreach activities have included public notices, interviews, a mailing list, fact sheets, and public meetings on cleanup activities and updates.
Future Work
Site investigation and cleanup activities are ongoing.
Site Administrative Documents
- FINAL RECORD OF DECISION RSA-122, DISMANTLED LEWISITE MANUFACTURING PLANT SITES; RSA-056, CLOSED ARSENIC WASTE PONDS; AND RSA-139, FORMER ARSENIC TRICHLORIDE MANUFACTURING DISPOSAL AREA, OPERABLE UNIT 6, US ARMY/NASA REDSTONE ARSENAL. (PDF) (110 pp, 5.47MB, About PDF).
Site Repository
For more information or to view any site-related documents, please visit the site information repository at the following location. As new documents are generated, they will be placed in the information repository for public information.
Huntsville-Madison County Public Library
Heritage Room
915 Monroe Street
Huntsville, AL 35801-5007
Administrative Record Index
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.