THE PROBLEM was the physical condition of the site, which had been dormant since 1969.
- Asbestos insulation was hanging from abandoned overhead piping
- Power lines were left on teetering poles
- Chemicals were left on laboratory shelves, many without labels
- Thousands of rotting drums with contents unknown, were scattered throughout the site
- Contaminated materials were left inside the buildings
- Contaminated debris from various U.S. Department of the Army and U.S. Atomic Energy Commission operations were strewn throughout the site
- Many of the buildings had caved in roofs and leaking pipes
- 26 acres of raffinate (waste) pits contained contaminated water, and were cluttered with thousands of unidentified drums, and hundreds of tons of rubble from earlier decontamination activities.
THE PROBLEM was the contaminants. The primary contaminants of concern were radionuclides (uranium and thorium), metals, inorganic anions, nitroaromatic compounds, polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and asbestos.
THE PROBLEM was the potential for these contaminants to migrate into the St. Charles County water wells and other off-site locations.
A team from the U.S. Department of Energy arrived on-site in 1986 armed to face their mission of eliminating potential hazards to the public and the environment. Their task was not an easy one. The concerns were real, the challenges were many, but their commitment was firm.
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