Location and Description: The site comprises 274
acres and is located four miles northeast of Arlington in
Washington County, Neb.
Construction of the Offutt Atlas“D” Missile Site 2 occurred between 1959 and 1960,
and the site was used for the maintenance, storage, and
potential launch of the Atlas D Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. The Atlas D missile was a liquid-fueled, rocket-powered
ICBM equipped with all-inertial
guidance.
The missile’s power plant consisted of a cluster of
three Rocketdyne engines (two boosters and one sustainer) and
two small vernier engines. The propellant is a combination of liquid oxygen and highly refined
kerosene. A hydraulic system was used to open the silo doors and to raise the missile to its launch
position at ground level. The site was declared excess in 1966 and was transferred to private ownership
in 1969. Since 1969, the site’s buildings have been used for grain and other miscellaneous storage. The
land is leased and used primarily for livestock grazing.
Problem and response: Trichloroethylene (TCE), cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cis-1,2-DCE), and vinyl
chloride have been detected above their federal maximum contaminant limits in groundwater. It is undocumented and suspected to be the result of solvent disposal or accidental spilling on the
ground surface during maintenance activities during missile site operation or from decommissioning the
site. In the shallow groundwater zone, there are several overlapping plumes of volatile organic
compound contamination beneath a large portion of the site, extending off-site to the northeast.
The cleanup consists of
injecting vegetable oil into the ground to establish anaerobic biodegradation
that will provide significant treatment of the TCE plumes and hot spots. This technical approach will allow
the contractor to achieve the response complete in 10 years. The response can be accomplished by 2018.
Activities for 2015: Execution of the monitoring program and on-going injection to obtain mass
contamination removal by optimization and /or bio-augmentation to accelerate the remedial process.
Proposed Activites for 2016: Continue with the remedial action effort and perform 80% removal
of the contamination.