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Landfill Risk Assessment, Sites 14 & 15, Wallops Island Flight Center

Norfolk Army Corps Of Engineers Under contract to Weston Solutions, Inc.
Location: Wallops Island Flight Center, VA

OVERVIEW

• Pesticide and SVOC Contamination
• Analysis of Pesticide Fate and Transport Mechanisms
• Habitat Analysis
• Biological Tissue Collection
• Human and Ecological Risk Assessments
  

DESCRIPTION

Avatar led the development of both the ecological and human health risk assessments for NASA Wallops Island Flight Center Sites 14 and 15 landfills under contract to Weston Solutions Inc. The NASA Wallops Flight Center is NASA’s primary facility for sub-orbital programs. It was originally part of the Chincoteague Naval Auxiliary Air Station and was transferred to NASA in 1961. Sites 14 and 15 are two former landfills that were evaluated and remediated under the Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) Program. Contaminants identified at these sites include metals (including mercury), SVOCs and pesticides. The transport of bioaccumulative contaminants from the sites into nearby creeks and estuaries was of particular ecological concern.

Avatar prepared a field sampling plan and risk assessment work plan that addressed original RI data gaps and included surface water, sediment and ground water sampling, and the collection and processing of small mammals and earthworms. The samples collected were included in an ecological risk assessment that was conducted by Avatar. Project activities included:

• Small mammal collection for chemical analysis of tissue and species specific age, sex and morphometric data
• Qualitative vegetation survey at each sampling location
• Development of tissue-residue effect levels for several different bioaccumulative contaminants
• Significant interaction with regulatory agencies (EPA, VA DEQ)

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This project included the integration of extensive site-specific data, including fish, mammal and soil invertebrate data, estuary impact analysis, and detailed fate and transport modeling to characterize the nature and extent of human and ecological risks from two landfills. Landfills were located next to a large saltwater wetland and extensive estuarine creek complex.