Wurtsmith Air Force Base - Environmental Concerns

Environmental Concerns

On January 18, 1994, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed to add Wurtsmith Air Force Base to the National Priorities List. This would make the base a Superfund site. The proposal was driven by the discovery of contaminated groundwater on the base. Contaminants of primary concern include metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds, including trichloroethylene, 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and vinyl chloride. Knowledge of the contaminated soil and groundwater have been known since 1977, and cleanup efforts began before the Superfund program was created. In 1999 and 2001, Soil vapor extraction systems were added to remove the volatile organic compounds from the site. Since 2004, bioventing and biosparging systems have been cleaning the soil and groundwater as well.

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