![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
NPL Site Narrative for Rickenbacker Air National Guard (USAF)
RICKENBACKER AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE
Lockbourne, Ohio
Federal Register Notice: January 18, 1994Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base occupies about 2,100 acres in an agricultural area in central Ohio. The facility is located 9 miles southeast of the city of Columbus and 0.5 mile east of the community of Lockbourne, in southern Franklin County and northern Pickaway County. Approximately 1,100 people are employed by the base.
Beginning in 1942, the site was used for refueling operations by the U.S. Air Force. Base operations were transferred to the Ohio Air National Guard (OANG) in 1980. In 1984, approximately 1,600 acres were transferred to Rickenbacker Port Authority. The current mission of the base is to provide airfield support for OANG and the Air Force Reserve. Activities include operation, maintenance, and repair of aircraft, vehicles, equipment, and utility systems. Also, the Aerial Spray Branch is responsible for pesticide spraying at other bases in the U.S.
The aquifer underlying the site supplies water to homes in the area, 150,000 people residing in the City of Columbus, and to nearby communities. In 1988, the City of Columbus proposed a Wellhead Protection Area to prevent the contamination of this major water source. Sampling at the site in 1988 and 1989, found heavy metals and trichloroethylene (TCE) in the onsite monitoring wells. In addition, soils were found to contain significant levels of organics and pesticides that may migrate into the drinking water supply. An Installation Restoration Program (IRP) report, conducted by the Department of Defense (DOD), identified more than 20 sources of hazardous materials at the site. Eight sources have been evaluated.
The Drum Storage Area was used from 1984 to 1986 to store drums containing spent solvents, waste paint, sludge from oil-water separators, and spent batteries. TCE, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, and nickel were detected in ground water below this source, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were found in soils.
The Salvage Yard has been used since the 1950s for storage of scrap materials and pesticides. Lindane, 4.4'-DDD, and PAHs were found in soils.
The area near the Old Entomology Laboratory was used for cleaning pesticide spraying equipment and pesticide drum storage. In 1979, the laboratory was damaged by fire and pesticides were spilled. Subsequent sampling revealed 2,4,5-TP (Silvex) in ground water and 4,4'-DDD and 4,4'-DDE in soils. Although some pesticides were stored at the Old Entomology Laboratory, most were stored at the Pesticide Storage Building No. 412. A 1987 IRP report stated that approximately 855 gallons of pesticides were stored there.
Coal soaked in fuel oil was stored at the North and South Coal Piles, which had a total storage capacity of 10,000 tons. For 36 years, coal was used to fire the heating plant. Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, mercury, lead, and nickel were detected in the ground water underneath the source, and PAHs were found in the soil.
The Underground Hazardous Waste Storage Area was used as a repository for waste oils, waste solvents, and other unspecified chemical substances generated at the site. No sampling data is available.
The Active Hazardous Waste Storage Area was used as a repository for waste oils, waste solvents, oil-water separator sludge, spent batteries, and waste oil. No analytical data for this source is available.
DOD is addressing environmental concerns about the site under the IRP. Several investigations have been conducted, including a site inspection study in 1991, which will facilitate closure of the base, scheduled for 1994.
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.