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NPL Site Narrative for Patuxent River Naval Air Station
PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION
St. Mary's County, Maryland
Federal Register Notice: May 31, 1994Patuxent River Naval Air Station is a 6,400-acre facility on a broad headland peninsula known as Cedar Point. The peninsula is located at the confluence of the Patuxent River and the Chesapeake Bay in St. Mary's County, Maryland. Much of the peninsula is covered with woods or wetlands. The majority of the station's operations are concentrated on the western portion of the property.
Numerous potential sources of contamination to surface water have been identified on the facility. The three sources evaluated under the HRS model include the Fishing Point Landfill, the Former and Current Sanitary Landfills, and the Pesticide Control Shop Rinse Area.
The Fishing Point Landfill is a 25-acre area that was used from 1960 to 1974 as the main disposal site for solid and hazardous waste. The landfill is located in wetlands. It received sewage treatment plant sludge, cesspool wastes, spent oil absorbents, paints, antifreeze, solvents, thinners, pesticides, and photolab wastes.
The Former Sanitary Landfill was used as a disposal area from 1974 to 1980; the adjacent Current Sanitary Landfill has been used since 1980. The total area covered by the landfills is estimated to be 16.5 acres. Wastes deposited in the landfills include sewage treatment plant sludge, cesspool wastes, paints, thinners, solvents, antifreeze, pesticides, hospital wastes, asbestos, and photolab wastes.
The Pesticide Control Shop Rinse Area has been located in Building 841 since 1962. Records indicate that from 300 to 400 gallons of rinsate per day were generated from this source.
The wetlands filled by the Fishing Point Landfill area are located directly on the confluence of the Patuxent River and the Chesapeake Bay. The water in this area is used for shellfishing and fishing. Hazardous substances were disposed in the wetlands that existed before the landfill was established. The wetlands were located along the southern and northern borders of Fishing Point. Two fishing areas on the site, Pond 3 and Pine Hill Run, are located in the surface water pathway of the Pesticide Control Shop Rinse Area and the Former and Current Landfills. Pine Hill Run empties into the Chesapeake Bay.
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.