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NPL Site Narrative for Eielson Air Force Base
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE
Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska
Federal Register Notice: November 21, 1989Conditions at proposal (July 14, 1989): Eielson Air Force Base covers 19,790 acres in Fairbanks North Star Borough, approximately 24 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. Since its establishment in 1944, its primary mission has been to provide tactical support to the Alaskan Air Command.
Within its boundaries, Eielson contains closed and active unlined landfills extending into ground water, shallow trenches where weathered tank sludge was buried, a drum storage area, and other disposal or spill areas.
Eielson Air Force Base is participating in the Installation Restoration Program (IRP), established in 1978. Under this program, the Department of Defense seeks to identify, investigate, and clean up contamination from hazardous materials. IRP tests have found lead, arsenic, chromium, copper, nickel, and zinc in soil in the drum storage area, as well as trans-1,2-dichloroethylene (trans) and lead above the Federal primary drinking water standard in shallow on-site monitoring wells. An estimated 9,000 people obtain drinking water from wells within 3 miles of hazardous substances on the base.
Surface water within 3 miles downslope of hazardous substances at the base is used for fishing. The base is in the floodplain of the Tanana River.
The Air Force is developing a workplan for a remedial investigation/feasibility study to determine the type and extent of contamination at the base and identify alternatives for remedial action. The workplan is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 1989.
Status (November 21, 1989): EPA, the Air Force, and the State of Alaska are negotiating an Interagency Agreement under CERCLA Section 120 for oversight of activities at the base.
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.