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NPL Site Narrative for Nebraska Ordnance Plant (Former)
NEBRASKA ORDNANCE PLANT (FORMER)
Mead, Nebraska
Federal Register Notice: August 30, 1990Conditions at proposal (October 26, 1989): The former Nebraska Ordnance Plant once occupied over 17,000 acres near Mead in a rural part of Saunders County, 35 miles northeast of Lincoln, Nebraska. From 1942 to 1956, the primary function of the plant was munitions production at four bomb loading lines for both World War II and the Korean Conflict. The plant was also used for munitions storage and ammonium nitrate production. Some of the operations used organic solvents.
Beginning in 1962, portions of the former plant were sold or transferred to various other entities. Today, the major production area of the former plant, approximately 9,000 acres, belongs to the University of Nebraska and is used as an agricultural research station. The remaining acreage is currently owned by the Nebraska National Guard and numerous private individuals and corporations.
The former Nebraska Ordnance Plant is being investigated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of the Defense Environmental Restoration Program. The site, however, is not currently owned by the Federal government. Included in the Corps investigation are the current university property, the current Nebraska National Guard property, and the former administration area, bomb booster assembly area, burning ground/sewage treatment area, and ammonium nitrate plant. In a study completed in April 1989, the Corps identified areas of soil contaminated by PCBs and munitions wastes, including trinitrotoluene (TNT) and cyclomethylenetrinitramine (RDX). The Corps also detected TNT, RDX, and trichloroethylene (TCE) in on-site monitoring wells, and RDX and TCE in off-site drinking water wells. An estimated 400 persons obtain drinking water from wells within 3 miles of the site. Ground water is also used for irrigation and livestock.
The Corps is conducting a remedial investigation (RI) to determine the type and extent of contamination in all known areas of contamination.
Status (August 30, 1990): Work on the RI continues.
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.