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NPL Site Narrative for Federal Aviation Admin. Tech. Center
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION TECHNICAL CENTER
Atlantic County, New Jersey
Federal Register Notice: August 30, 1990Conditions at proposal (July 14, 1989): The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Technical Center covers 5,052 acres 8 miles northwest of Atlantic City in Atlantic County. The site borders the Garden State Parkway in southeastern New Jersey. Installations on the site include the Atlantic City International Airport, a New Jersey Air National Guard Station, and extensive FAA facilities.
Activities at the site started in 1942 with construction of a Naval air base. In late 1958, FAA, then known as the Airways Modernization Board, took over the operation and has used the facility as an airport and aviation safety research center.
In 1984, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) contracted for an assessment of pollution sources that could impact the then proposed Atlantic City Municipal Well Field, to be located on the north shore of the Upper Atlantic City Reservoir within the FAA Technical Center boundaries. This investigation identified five areas as posing a threat to the proposed well field: the Salvage Area (Area 20A), where scrap materials and drums of hazardous waste oils and solvents were stored; the Fuel Mist Test Facility (Area 27), where jet fuels were sprayed and burned to test the antimisting properties of certain fuel additives; the Fire Training Area (Area 29), where fuel fire testing and fire training exercises were conducted; the Avgas Fuel Farm and Photo Lab (Area 41), where leaks from underground storage tanks, discharge of photographic lab wastes, and spillage of fuels may have occurred; and the Abandoned Navy Landfill (Area 56), an area south of the main runway used as a landfill by the Navy.
Hydrogeological studies of the five areas indicated that development of the new well field could proceed. Since then, FAA has informed NJDEP and EPA of additional areas that may have an environmental impact. With NJDEP and EPA guidance, FAA is conducting a remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) to determine the type and extent of contamination at the site and identify alternatives for remedial action.
Tetrachloroethylene, 1,1-dichloroethylene, benzene, toluene, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane are present in ground water at Areas 20A, 29, and 56, according to a November 1984 report of NJDEP's contractor and initial results of FAA's RI/FS. Elevated levels of cadmium and chromium were found in ground water at Area 56. An estimated 68,000 people obtain drinking water from Atlantic City reservoirs, which are fed primarily by the north and south branches of Doughty's Mill Stream. The upper reservoir is on Technical Center property, as are nine new Atlantic City production wells.
Status (August 30, 1990): FAA has completed RIs on the original five areas, plus 17 additional areas. FSs are underway or completed for several areas. The remedy has been selected for Site D - Jet Fuel Farm.
EPA and FAA plan to negotiate an Interagency Agreement under CERCLA Section 120 to cover the remedial activities to be conducted.
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.