INNOVATIONS AND EFFICIENCIES ACHIEVED DURING REMEDIATION OF THE ST. LOUIS FUSRAP SITE

In FY98, Congress transferred the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) to the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) through the Energy and Water Appropriations Act. A subsequent Memorandum of Understanding between the USACE and the U.S. Department of Energy has clarified agency roles. FUSRAP addresses contamination generated by activities of the Manhattan Engineering District (MED)/Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in the 1940’s and 50’s in support of the nation’s nuclear weapons development program. The USACE Operation Order for FUSRAP gave responsibility for remediation of five Missouri (St. Louis) and Illinois sites to the USACE-St. Louis District. The principal site is the St. Louis Airport Site (SLAPS), which involves the removal, transportation, disposal, and restoration of approximately 22 acres and 245,000 bank cubic yard (bcy) of contaminated soils. Similar work will be performed on the vicinity properties (currently 56 identified properties). SLAPS is approximately 17 miles northwest from downtown St. Louis, Missouri. The SLAPS project was awarded to Stone & Webster, Inc. (S&W) in 1998 as a delivery order through the USACE-Kansas City District on Total Environmental Restoration Contract #5 (TERC5 under the USACE-Omaha District). The St. Louis District is managing the work as part of the FUSRAP program. The work entails remediating the St. Louis North County Sites of the radioactive contamination that resulted from Manhattan Project materials. S&W is performing the work on a force account basis with the support of specialty subcontractors. The SLAPS project has been the most successful FUSRAP project to date in terms of characterizin g, excavating, and handling large quantities of contaminated soils. Approximately 85,000 cubic yards of contaminated material has been characterized, handled, and disposed in a 7-month time schedule without a recorded accident. This has been achieved by using a synthesis of project innovations and efficiencies coupled with database information integration to better assemble, disseminate, and analyze data for fast and efficient characterization and removal of contaminated soils. This has culminated in an average cost reduction of 40 percent for remediating 1 cubic yard of contaminated material as compared to past FUSRAP projects.