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DEPARTMENT OF WASTE MANAGEMENT11 th Floor, Monroe Building

101 N. 14th StreetRichmond, VA 23219(804) 225-2667

MEMORANDUM

To: File

From: Nora Okusu

Date: April 12, 1990

Subject: Report of Sampling Trip to Arrowhead Assoc./Scovill Inc.Site

Surface water and sediment samples were collected by thecontractor on April 9, 1990. The VDWM took split samples from thecontractor to check on proper sampling techniques and analysis.

The samplers from ICF Kaiser Engineers were Claudia Brand andJennifer Tilghman. An ICF ecologist was also present to performthe ecological survey.

The samplers from VDWM were Nora Okusu and Glenn Metzler.

As specified in the work plan, the contractor took surfacewater samples for laboratory analysis for VOAs, BNAs, total metals,filtered metals, cyanide, total suspended solids, alkalinity, andhardness. Field measurements of temperature, pH, Eh, conductivity,and dissolved oxygen were taken. Sediment samples were taken forlaboratory analysis for VOAs, BNAs, total metals, cyanide, totalorganic carbon, grain size, and percent moisture. In addition,field measurements were taken of temperature, pH, Eh, andconductivity.

The surface water samples were obtained by dipping a beakerinto the water and pouring the water into the samples bottles.This method was used because the contractor's sample bottlesalready had preservatives in them. The sediment samples wereobtained by use of a hand auger. The VOA samples were takenquickly to minimize volatilization. The other sample bottles werefilled after several hand auger volumes were composited on a cleanplastic sheet.

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In taking the sediment field measurements, the work planstates that the probes would be put directly into the sediment.The contractor felt that this method would damage the probes, soanother method of obtaining the readings was devised. This methodconsists of putting 50 ml of sediment into a glass beaker, adding50 ml of distilled water, mixing, allowing the mixture to stabilizefor 5 minutes, and then putting the probes into the mixture.

In addition to these volumes, the contractor took a duplicatesample at station ST-2. Surface water and sediment samples weretaken from stations ST-6 and ST-1 to be used for bioassays.Additional volumes will be taken from these two locations on April11 and April 13 for the bioassays.

The VDWM took a surface water and sediment sample at stationST-1, the location closest to the site. These samples were sentto CLP laboratories to be analyzed for VOAs, BNAs, total metals,and cyanide. In addition, a rinsate blank was taken after thesamples for ST-1 were collected. The rinsate blank consists ofdeionized, organic-free water poured through the decontaminatedhand auger and into the sample bottles. This is a check on properequipment decontamination.

The samples were taken at the following starting times:

ST-7 10;55

ST-6 12:15

ST-5 15:50

ST-4 16:39

ST-3 17:29

ST-2 17:51

ST-1 13:23

The following decontamination techniques were observed:

o The probes were sprayed with distilled water anddryed with paper towels.

o The filter and hoses used by the filter pump werediscarded after each sample and fresh ones were usedfor the next sample.

o The hand auger was rinsed in the stream or pond. ^^

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The samples were placed on ice in coolers immediately afterthey were taken. Throughout the day, the contractor appeared touse good sampling and decontamination techniques.

COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIADEPARTMENT OF WASTE MANAGEMENT

11th Floor, Monroe Building101 N. 14th Street

Richmond, VA 23219(804) 225-2667

MEMORANDUM

To: File

From: Nora Okusu


Subject: Report of Site Visit to Arrowhead Assoc/Scovill Inc. Site

A site visit was conducted on April 3, 1990 to inspect thecontractor's proposed locations for the surface water and sedimentsamples in Scates Branch and Weavers Millpond. An EPA wetlandsspecialist, Peter Stokely, performed the wetlands delineation atthe same time. The following personnel were on site:

Nora OkusuGlenn MetzlerKim Hummel, EPAPeter Stokely, EPA

The stake for ST-1 is located in a part of the stream whichis narrow, has a clay bottom, and no sediment deposition. It wasdecided that the samples should be taken about 10 yards downstream,where the stream widens and sediment exists.

ST-2 is located below the confluence of Scates Branch and asmall stream which carries runoff from the lumber yard. The watercoming from the lumber yard appears to be stained slightly red.It was agreed that the location of the stake is appropriate.

ST-3 is located in the beaver pond. It was agreed that thelocation should be about 50 yards upstream, where Scates Branchwidens and separates, and a small wetlands occurs.

• ST-4 is located in a small stream which joins Scates Branchdownstream of the beaver pond. This appears to be a good point totake a background sample for comparison.

ST-5 is located just below the confluence of Scates Branch-,an p t. ithe small stream which flows north. f\ K o u U 0 4 I

ST-6 is located in the marshy area where Scates Branch flowsinto Weavers Millpond.

ST-7 is located near the broken dam where Weavers Millpondflows into Peirce Creek.

The vegetation around Scates Branch and Weavers Millpondappears to be very healthy and diverse. There are no obvious signsof contamination.

Mr. F.F. Chandler, who lives on Route 3 in Montross, drove medown his private access road to Weavers Millpond. The road isunpaved and has a chain blocking the road which is secured bypadlocks to two trees. Mr. Chandler provided the followinginformation about Weavers Millpond:

o The pond is approximately 3 feet deep.

o A grist mill was located on the pond in 1933.

o The pond was replaced (by the construction of the smalldam which leads to Peirce Creek) in 1961.

o Mr. Chandler is waiting for the results of our chemicalanalysis of the pond water before mending the dam.

o The pond supports a healthy population of bass andcrappie. Waterfowl nest around the pond.

Glenn Metzler performed benthic surveys at 3 locations downScates Branch. His report is attached to this memo. Peter Stokelywill write a report of the wetlands he identified, and this willbe forwarded to me by Kim Hummel.

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COMMONWEALTH o/ VIRQINIADEPARTMENT OF WASTE MANAGEMENT


Richmond, VA 23219(804) 225-2667

MEMORANDUM

To: FileOKWFrom: Nora Okusu


Subject: Oversight of Groundwater Sampling at Arrowhead

The contractor collected the first round of groundwatersamples from the site on April 16-17, 1990. The VDWM providedfield oversight and took split samples from two of the wells.

It was observed that health and safety procedures werecarefully followed. The person opening the well wore a respiratorand all others stayed back from the well. An HNu reading was takenimmediately after the well was opened, and both the air in the welland the air in the breathing zone were carefully monitored. Thecontractor also took HNu readings from the air in the purge waterbasin.

A clean plastic sheet was spread around the well before thepump was operated. A large basin was placed on the sheet toreceive the purge water. This prevented the water from soakinginto the ground. The purge water was drummed and will be analyzedbefore disposal.

In taking the samples, the contractor used a manually-operatedPVC pump which consisted of two concentric tubes. By moving theinner tube up and down, groundwater is forced up the annulus. Ateach location, the bottom of the pump was inserted to withinseveral feet of the bottom of the well.

The procedure used in purging the well is as follows:

o Conductivity, pH, and temperature readings weretaken at the beginning of pumping;

o The well was pumped for 5 minutes;

o The readings were taken again; _ .

:

o This procedure was repeated until the readingsstabilized: conductivity within 10%

pH within 0.2temperature within 1 degree

On the average, about 25 gallons were extracted from each wellbefore samples were taken. This is approximately 10 well volumes.The purge water was fairly turbid but became noticeably more clearas the well approached stabilization.

With the exception of well MW-8 in the large drum storagearea, the following method was used in taking samples:

b Base/neutral/acid extractables, total suspendedsolids, total metals, filtered metals, and cyanidesamples were taken directly from the pump outflow.

o Samples for volatile organic analytes were takenfrom a bailer which was inserted after the pump wasremoved. The contractor used dedicated bailers anddiscarded the nylon cord between wells. The bailerswere marked with the well number so that the sameones will be used during subsequent sampling rounds.

Because of the high HNu readings recorded during theinstallation of well MW-8, the contractor used a bailer to purgethe well. Approximately four wells volumes were extracted beforethe well stabilized. All of the samples were then taken from thebailer.

The water extracted from well MW-6 had a faint, petroleum odor.This well is located near the TCE tank.

It appeared that well MW-12 was pumped faster than it couldrecover. The water flowed erratically from the pump and the waterwas alternately clear and turbid. The groundwater level in thiswell is approximately 1.5 feet below the surface.

DecontaminationThe contractor scrubbed the pump with Alconox solution and

rinsed it with clean water between wells. The bailers weredecontaminated by the same method. The decontamination water .wascollected and drummed. The plastic sheets which were spread on theground around the well were discarded between wells. The fieldmeasurement probes were sprayed with distilled water and wipedbetween each measurement. The hoses and filter used in filteringthe samples were discarded between each well.

Split SamplesThe VDWM took split samples at wells MW-1 and MW-12. A triple

volume was taken at MW-1 to allow for matrix spike/matrix spikeduplicate analysis. The samples were taken for the followinganalyses:

o volatile organic analyteso base/neutral/acid extractableso total metalso filtered metalso cyanide

In addition, a duplicate sample was taken from MW-12. Thisis a check on laboratory repeatability. A rinsate blank was takenby pouring distilled water down the pump and into sample bottlesafter pump decontamination. The rinsate blank will be analyzed forthe same parameters as the groundwater samples, except for filteredmetals. This is a check on the thoroughness of the contractor'sdecontamination techniques. It was decided not to take a filterblank because the contractor discarded the hoses and filter betweeneach sample.

COMMONWEALTH of V1RQ1N1ADEPARTMENT OF WASTE MANAGEMENT


Richmond, VA 23219(804)225-2667

MEMORANDUMIClftN Wi fN L,

To: File

From: Nora Okusu


Subject: Site Visit to Arrowhead Assoc./Scovill Inc. NPL Site

A site visit was conducted on April 24, 1990 to observe thepond closure activities. A meeting with the oversight contractorwas held to familiarize him with the site and describe the scheduleof future work.

Weston is the primary contractor to Scovill for the pondclosure. The site manager last week was Chuck Moore. The sitemanager this week and for the remainder of the project is KeithHolmes. !

Weston began removing water from the ponds leist Thursday. Thewater is pumped into a 1200 gallon holding tank and from there intoa trailer which contains carbon filtration units. The water isthen pumped into a second trailer which contains ion exchangeunits. Finally, the water flows into the existing storm drain andinto Scates Branch. The flow rate through the system isapproximately 150 gallons per minute.

The ponds are being drained in the following order: new pond,SE pond, NE pond, old pond, NW pond, and SW pond,, The NW pond iscurrently being used to hold the discharge water from thebackflushing of the filtration units. This operation is performedonce a day to prevent significant loss of flowrate. Overflow fromthe holding tank also flows into this pond, so it is not completelydrained.

Currently, the SW pond is being drained. Keith expects thepond to be empty sometime tomorrow.

The backfilling operations are expected to last 2 to 2-1/2weeks. Backfilling of the new pond began today with the use of 2bulldozers. It was observed that the west berm was being pushedinto the pond.

To prevent erosion, Keith will place straw bales into thedrainage ditch along the north side of the old pond. A siltationfence will be erected on the east side.

Kevin Koepenick (ICF Kaiser Engineers, Inc.) took samples ofthe effluent from the treatment system, as required by the NPDESpermit. Kevin also showed me the locations of surface soil samplesthat were taken last Thursday. One sample (a composite of two handauger samples taken from both banks) was taken on the north sideof the old pond. Two samples were taken beside the concretedrainage line that forms the storm sewer system. This drain iscurrently being used by the pond drainage activities.

Kevin also took field measurements of the effluent water:pH = 8conductivity = 300description: slightly turbid

On April 19, the field measurements were:pH = 7.1conductvity = 0description: clear

The drainage into Scates Branch from the storm sewer wasobserved. The small pond at the base of the sewer outflow appearsto be only slightly turbid.

Newton Rose from Resource Applications, Inc. (oversightcontractor) arrived on site at about 10:30. Kevin and I showed himall of the well locations, drum storage areas, and described theRI activities that have taken place.

I asked RAI for the following level of field oversight:

1) Oversight of the removal activities 3 days per week,beginning the week of April 30;

2) Oversight of monitoring well installation (MW-4, MW-11, and any wells which are knocked down during pondbackfilling);

3) Oversight of surface soil sampling after the pondclosure and revegetation has taken place;

4) Oversight of the second round of grouft<f 9i£ @ 8 Usampling, scheduled for around May 16; w

5) Oversight of deep borings through the ponds afterclosure.

RAI will submit a work plan to VDWM and EPA this week. Ifthis is quickly approved, oversight work can begin on schedule.

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Richmond, VA 23219(804)225-2667

MEMORANDUM

To: File

From: Nora Okusu


Subject: Canada Geese at the Arrowhead Site

A pair of Canada geese built a nest on the berm between theSW and SE ponds. The nest was spotted during a site visit by VDWMpersonnel on April 3, 1990. This problem had to be dealt withimmediately because the removal action (pond backfilling, grading,and revegetation) was scheduled to start on April 16. Theincubation period for a Canada goose is 30 days.

After conversations with Bob Duncan of the Department of Gameand Inland Fisheries and Don Patterson of the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service, I got in touch with Joe May, an investigator andwaterfowl specialist with the Department of Agriculture.

The' choices offered to me were to either have the nest movedor take the eggs and incubate them until they hatch. All of thewaterfowl experts I spoke to said that if the nest is moved, thegeese will abandon the nest and eggs.

Joe visited the site on April 9, 1990 and took the six eggsfrom the nest. He transported the eggs to Central Garage where hemet a veterinarian from Prince William County. The eggs were putinto an incubator.

Joe is authorized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service toperform this service. His permit number is PRT715219.

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Richmond, VA 23219(804)225-2667

MEMORANDUM

To: File

From: Nora Okusu

Date: May 2, 1990

Subject: Field Oversight at the Arrowhead NPL Site

A site visit was conducted on May 2, 1990 to observe thebackfilling and grading of the ponds. I also met with Abdul Latifof RAI to discuss his role in field oversight.

Keith Holmes is the current site manager for Weston. He toldme that they stopped pumping water from the ponds; at about 9:00 amon Thursday, April 26. The large trailers; containing thefiltration and ion exchange units left the site on Thursday. Pondbackfilling began on Tuesday, April 24, as noted in my memo datedthat day.

Keith thinks that a spring may exist under the SW pond. Hesaid that this is a concern shared by some of the people who workin the plant. To prevent the spring water from ponding at thislocation, the Weston crew laid a 4" PVC pipe from the pond bottomto the concrete drainage channel east of the ponds. The end of thepipe is about 15 yards south of monitoring well MW-12. During myvisit, no water was observed flowing through the pipe. However,standing water does exist in the SW pond.

Earlier in the week, a load of kiln dust was pushed into thesouth pond to solidify the mud slurry at the bottom. This pond wasbeing filled while I was on site.

The current status of the pond backfilling is as follows: theSE; NE, and NW ponds have been filled but the surfaces have notbeen graded. Keith says that the large berm on the east sideformed most of the backfill material. The south pond is about halffull. The material used in backfilling this pond is coming fromthe large east berm of the north pond (about 8 feet of this bermhas been removed so far). Backfilling of the north pond has notstarted yet.

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A siltation fence has been erected as shown in the diagrambelow. This will prevent sediment caused by the earthmovingoperations from being washed into Scates Branch.

o aI walked along Scates Branch to the first surface

water/sediment sampling location (ST-1). The shallow pond at thebase of the storm sewer drain outfall is empty. The water in thepond is slightly discolored by the reddish clay,

Problems Observed on Site

Two problems were observed on site. The first is that theplastic sheet used in wrapping the drill cuttings from MW-11 wasrun over by a bulldozer. This caused the plastic to open and-thesoil to be exposed. This problem can be solved by using a handshovel to replace the soil inside the plastic sheet.

The second problem is that the drums containing the purge anddevelopment water are not bolted. If a vehicle hits one of thedrums, the water will spill out. Also, the drums cannot be moveduntil the tops are sealed.

I left a message with Claudia Brand of ICF to call me so wecan discuss these issues.

Oversight Contractor

The oversight contractor's representative, Abdul Latif, spent8 hours on site on Monday, April 30, and is scheduled to spend 8hours on site today. I have the following observations about hiswork:

o He did not take any notes while I was on site with him.He said that he will write his observations in the fieldlogbook at the end of the day. I think that the only waythat the work can be adequately documented is if detailednotes are taken throughout the day.

o He did not have a camera with him. He said that the planis to take 1 picture per day, and that the camera was notavailable today. Since the purpose of having anoversight contractor on site is to allow us to understandthe work through the notes and pictures, I think that

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pictures should be taken at regular intervals throughoutthe day.

o I asked to look at the field logbook. The first entryby Newton Rose documents the first site visit on April24. The notes consisted mostly of background history ofthe site. The second entry was made by Abdul Latif onApril 30. These notes consisted of a short paragraphwhich described the work at the site in very generalterms. There was no description of the site conditionswhen he arrived on site, although a week had passed fromthe first site visit, and there was no description of thesite conditions when he left. He did not document whichponds were filled in while he was watching, and he didnot describe the source of the soil used in the filling.I think that this level of documentation is inadequateand the casual attitute is unprofessional.

o The oversight contractor did not notice the problem withplastic wrap or the unsealed drums until I pointed themout to him. The incident of running over the plastic-wrapped soil occurred on Monday when he was on site,

o The oversight contractor did not document the erectionof the siltation fence or the drain in the SW pond.

I discussed these deficiencies with Abdul Latif on site today.He agreed to take more complete notes of the site activities, buthe did not take notes of the specific items that I talked about.

I think that RAI is not providing us with useful oversight atthe site. For example, I obtained more detailed information bycalling Keith Holmes on Monday morning than I got by reading theoversight contractor's field logbook. I have shared my opinionabout this matter with Kim Hummel of EPA. I will add more languageto the RAI work plan which details the type of information I wantrecorded in the field logbook. If this does not solve problem, Iwill ask that RAI be replaced.

cc: Kim Hummel, EPA

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COMMONWEALTH of VIRQINIADEPARTMENT OF WASTE MANAGEMENT


Richmond, VA 23218(804) 225-2667

MEMORANDUM

To: File

From: Nora Okusu

Date: May 8, 1990

Subject: Phone Report by Oversight Contractor for the ArrowheadSite

This morning, Larry Cornett called to inform me that duringthe backfilling of the SW pond yesterday afternoon, a clay or sandysediment lens was punctured by the bulldozers. Underneath the lenswas a black sludge. The sludge was pushed to the southwest cornerof the pond, and Larry observed that the Weston crew was mixingcement kiln dust with the sludge to help solidify it. Larry alsotook photographs of the sludge. The Weston crew told Larry thatthe sludge looks like the organic matter found at the bottom offarmers' ponds.

Larry also noticed that hunks of an iridescent blue sedimentwere uncovered yesterday afternoon in the SW pond. One of thehunks was 2 feet by 3 feet in size.

Larry said that he called me twice yesterday? at 4:00 and at4:30. There were no phone messages from him in my box. I gave himJon Horin's number to call in an emergency.

I have called the Weston trailer numerous times today butcannot get hold of anyone.

cc: feim Hummel, EPA

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DEPARTMENT OF WASTE MANAGEMENT11th Floor, Monroe Building

101 N. 14th StreetRichmond, VA 23219(804)225-2667

MEMORANDUM

To: File

From: Nora Okusu

Date: May 9, 1990

Subject: Report of Site Visit to Arrowhead Site

A site visit was conducted on May 7, 1990 to oversee- thebackfilling and grading operations and to meet with the newoversight contractor representative, Larry Cornett.

The South pond is nearly full of soil, except for a 4-footbank on the south side. The NW and NE ponds have been filled in.The SE pond is also full but the SW pond is still open. The eastberm of the SW pond has been pushed in towards the southwest. TheNorth pond is still open.

The Weston crew was installing another drain from the SE pondto the concrete drainage channel, as shown in the diagram below.The outflow of the drain is located next to monitoring well MW-12.Water was flowing through the drain at a low flowrate as it wasbeing installed.

The thunderstorm on Saturday caused a large amount of sedimentto be washed from the pond area down the east berms. The siltfence was overtopped by sediment on the south end and near thepoint where it crosses the storm sewer drain. The cement drainage

channel is 3/4 full of sediment. Keith Holmes, the site managerfor Weston, agreed to shovel the sediment out of it in the next fewdays.

Keith pointed out to me that the concrete drainage channel(into which the 2 Weston drains flow) is incomplete in severalplaces between the drain outlets and Scates Branch. Past MW-13,the concrete has broken and the water flows under the channel tothe bank. The soil under the concrete has been eroded. Sitesediment from the recent storm has been deposited under theconcrete.

Site sediment has reached Scates Branch through 2 pathways:by overtopping the silt fence and washing down to the inlet pondon the west side, and by flowing under the concrete drainagechannel to the east side. Site sediment has been deposited on thebottom of Scates Branch down to the first surface water/sedimentsampling location ST-1. I have notified Claudia Brand of ICF thatthis has happened.

Another storm is expected in the area at the end of this week.Weston has come up with the following plan to control erosion: aswale will be dug along the top of the east berm, from the Southpond to the North pond. The swale will empty into a small holdingpond full of riprap. A ditch will be dug to drain the pond at thesame elevation as the pond.

Keith will not start work on this plan until rainfall isimminent because the construction plan calls for another 4 feet tobe taken off the east berm.

The drill cuttings from MW-ll were shoveled onto a cleanplastic sheet placed next to the old sheet. The old sheet was alsoplaced on the pile, and topsoil from around the old sheet where thedrill cuttings has spilled was collected on the sheet. The edgesof the new plastic sheet were then folded on top of the pile andwieghed down with rocks to seal in the cuttings.

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Oversight Contractor

Larry Cornett is the new oversight contractor at the site.He was watching site activities closely, taking notes of hisobservations in the field logbook, and asking the Weston sitemanager questions. The entries he has made in the logbook have atime associated with them and are accompanied by diagrams. Larryand I have discussed the schedule of sampling activities next week.

Keith Holmes informed me that he has documented hisobservations of the previous oversight contractor representative.

cc: Kim Hummel, EPA ;

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DEPARTMENT OF WASTE MANAGEMENT11th Floor, Monroe Building

101 N. 14th StreetRichmond, VA 23219(804) 225-2667

MEMORANDUM

.To: File

From: Nora Okusu

Date: May 10, 1990

Subject: Report of Oversight Contractor Representative aboutArrowhead site

I spoke with Larry- Cornett of RAI this morning over- thetelephone about the activities he observed on the site yesterday.The following are his comments:

o The SW pond was 90% full when Larry left the siteyesterday. The pond was being filled with soil from thenorth pond which was carried to the SW pond by dumptrucks.

o The soil around the North pond was being pushed into thepond.

o The soil around the South pond was being graded.

o A slight swale was cut near the location of the old siltfence. A new silt fence was being installed and has beenextended further to the south.

o Larry spoke to Chuck Moore about the black sludge thathe saw on Monday. Chuck told him that all of the sludgeassociated with the plant operations was dredged duringthe removal action and that the sludge currently in theponds is a biological sludge which accumulated over thepast 2 years.

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Problem Observed

There is a small chlorination building on the east side of thesite which supplies oxygen to the sewage treatment system. Theoperator of the chlorination building came on site yesterday andtold the Weston site manager that the power to the building was cutoff when the boring work was done by ICF. According to theoperator, the power line runs underground straight from the plantbuilding, then parallel to the drainage channel, aind then runs eastto the chlorination building. Therefore it is possible that theline was cut by the installation of MW-12. Both the operator andthe Weston site manager think that the ditches dug for the drainsfrom the ponds are too far south to have affected the power line.

Chuck Moore deployed the small bulldozer in the vicinity ofMW-12 to look for the power line. The power to the chlorinationbuilding will have to be shut off before they can dig in the area.

Claudia Brand of ICF is scheduled to be on site today. I amsure that Chuck will talk to her about the power line. I havecalled the Weston trailer repeatedly but cannot get in touch withanyone there.

cc: Kim Hummel, EPA

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COMMONWEALTH o/ VIRQINIADEPARTMENT OF WASTE MANAGEMENT


', Richmond, VA 23219(804)225-2667

MEMORANDUM

To: File

From: Nora Okusu

Date: May 30, 1990

Subject: Report of Site Visits to Arrowhead Assoc/Scovill Ino Site

I visited the site on May 15, May 17, and May 18, 1990, toobserve sample collection, collect split samples for the VDWM/ andobserve the progress in pond closure.

May 15. 1990

POND CLOSUREKeith Holmes of Weston Services believes that final grade has

been achieved. The grade is not the smoothly-dipping surface shownin the proposed contour map bacause the surface above the NW andNE ponds is 12" over the planned elevation. The ground is higherthere because drains were .not installed in these two ponds, sogroundwater is pushing the soil up. The surface over the SW andSE ponds is smooth because the two drains are carrying ths waterout.

The west and north banks of the North pond are much steeperthan planned. Weston left these banks in to help drain water fromthe vegetated area between the parking lot and the North pond tothe west.

There is a small swale on the east side of the site to providestorm water drainage before the vegetation takes hold. Weston hasinstalled 300 feet of additional silt fence and has also put in asmall pond to collect sediment. A diagram of the runoff controlsystem is attached to this memo.

The fire main near the building has been leaking since Monday,May 14. Phyllis McKenzie has been notified by Weston. To preventthe water from draining over the pond surface, Weston dug a smallditch to carry the water directly to the existing stormwater drain.

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Because of the recent rains, several places where the surfacesoil is saturated with water were found. One of these soft spotsis over the South pond, about 15 ft. east of the boring location.There are small soft spots over the NW and NE ponds and a largesoft spot over the North pond.

WELL INSTALLATION '. .On May 14, ICF supervised Hardin Huber in re-instaliing MW-

11. The well was grouted on the morning of May 15. On May 16,well MW-4 was installed. Phil Rotstein, the EPA hydrogeologist,was on site on May 16 to observe the well installation and borings.

BORINGSFour borings were completed on May 15: SB-20, SB-19, SB-18

and SB-17. On May 16, the remaining two borings SB-15 and SB-16were completed.

SPLIT SAMPLESThe VDWM soil samples will be analyzed for VOAs, BNAs, metals,

and cyanide. The contractor is analyzing these samples for copper,zinc, and cyanide only. All split-spoon samples were screened withan HNu for volatiles. If volatiles were detected, then that samplewas also analyzed for VOAs.

I took each split sample from the split-spoon just above thewater table. If contaminants are entering the groundwater at theselocations, the analysis of these samples will detect it. If thesoil below the water table is contaminated, then the groundwatersamples will show it.

A trip blank was made at 5:15 am and placed in the organicscooler. . , .

The split sample SB-1 (which was also used for matrix spikeand matrix spike duplicate samples) was taken from boring SB-20 atthe 8-10 feet depth. SB-20 is the boring through the South pond.The VOA samples were taken directly from the split-spoon after thesample was screened for volatiles with an HNu. The BNA andmetals/cyanide samples were taken after compositing two split-spoonsamples (taken with a three-inch diameter split-spoon) in a bowlcovered with a plastic sheet. As the ICF QA person pointed out tous, this method may introduce trace quantities of phthalates intothe BNA samples. This sample was taken from 10:00 to 10:24 am.

' A rinsate blank was taken from the contractor's three-inchsplit-spoon as a check on decontamination techniques. The blankwas taken by pouring distilled water over the decontaminated spoondirectly into the sample bottles. The sample was taken from 10:25to 10:52. :

AR300860

The soil sample SB-2 was taken from boring SB-19 over the SWpond at a depth of 8-10 feet. The sample was taken from 12:13 to12:23. The HNu gave a low reading for volatiles in the next split-spoon (10-12 feet). Therefore, the contractor also took a VOAsample from that spoon.

The soil sampl-e SB-3 was taken from boring SB-18 over the SEpond at a depth of 6-8 feet. The sample was taken from 15:47 to15:58.

Mav 17. 1990

Split samples of groundwater were collected. The VDWM sampleswill be analyzed for VOAs, BNAs, metals, cyanide, and filteredmetals. The contractor is analyzing for the same parameters.

For all wells except for MW-8, the following procedure wasused. The well was pumped using the 1.7" Brainard-Kilman pumpuntil the groundwater . field parameters had stabilized.Stabilization was assumed to have occurred when two consecutivesamples (taken 5 minutes apart) had agreed within 1 degree F, 10%in conductivity, and 0.1 in pH. The BNA, metals, and cyanidesamples were then taken directly from the pump. The filteredmetals sample was taken by filling a plastic beaker with water fromthe pump and running it through the filter. A dedicated bailer wasthen used to extract groundwater for the VOA samples.

The pump was not used in well MW-8 because of the high HNureadings when the well was installed and when the well was firstsampled. A bailer was used both for well purging and sampling.

Sample GW-1 was taken from well MW-1 in a background location.The sample was taken from 9:30 to 9:57. Matrix spike and matrixspike duplicate QA samples were also taken from this well.

GW-2 is the filtered metals sample from well MW-1. The sampleand QA samples were taken at 9:25, 9:40, and 9:50. The VDWM samplebottles were filled after the contractor's sample.

A rinsate blank was taken from the pump to check thecontractor's decontamination techniques. Distilled water waspoured through several decontaminated sections of the pump and intothe sample bottles. The blank will be analyzed for VOAs, BNAs,total metals, and cyanide. The sample was taken from 11:27 to11:30.

Sample GW-3 was taken from well MW-6. (This information mayhave been written incorrectly on the sample tags.) The sample wastaken from 15:07 to 15:28.

Sample GW-4 is the filtered metals sample from MW-6. Thesample was taken at 15:15.

At the request of EPA CRL, a filter blank was also taken tocheck the quality of the filter lot. Distilled water was pumpedthrough a fresh filter and into a 1-liter sample bottle. Thesample will be analyzed for filtered metals only. The time of thesample is 14:45.

Total well and water level depths were measured at each well,including MW-3, which was not sampled. The water level and wellstickup measurements are attached to this memo. These measurementswere also sent to Phil Rotstein at EPA.

On May 17, the contractor sampled wells MW-1, MW-2, MW-5, MW-6, and MW-7.

Sanitary Lagoons

On the afternoon of May 17, I talked with Phyllis McKenzieabout the wells that will be installed by Winarick around the on-site sanitary lagoons. The State Water Control Board askedWinarick to install three monitoring wells, sample the groundwater,and have the samples analyzed for the sanitary parameters,including fecal coliform and BOD. Since the Hardin-Huber crew wasstill on-site to install wells for ICF, Phyllis wanted them to stayfor two additional days to install the Winarick wells. This way,Winarick would not have to pay the mobilization costs.

Mike Willy of Hardin-Huber (800-252-4007) asked Phyllis if ahealth and safety plan was required since it is s\. hazardous wastesite. This HSP normally requires the use of protective equipment,respirators, and an on-site geologist to supervise the work but isonly required if the wells are being installed in a location whichis considered to contain hazardous substances. The development andimplementation of this plan would also increase the cost of wellinstallation by a large amount.

I contacted Keith Fowler at the Tidewater Office of the StateWater Control Board (804-435-3181). His position is that the SWCBhas no information which leads them to believe that the samitarylagoons are contaminated with process wastes from the plant. Thatis why the analyte list contains no metals.

The research that ICF performed about the plant operationsalso indicates that process wastes were not discharged into thesanitary lagoons. Also, the surface topography indicates thatthere may be a groundwater divide between the settling ponds andthe sanitary lagoons. Therefore, I decided that a health andsafety plan was not required for well installation around the Page

AR300862

sanitary lagoons. This information was transmitted to Hardin-Huber ^P Iby Phyllis McKenzie. |

The approximate well locations and depths are shown in thefigure below. The same well construction techniques used ininstalling the ICF monitoring wells were also used in installingthese wells, except-that split-spoon samples were not taken. Thesame well construction materials were used. The screen is 10 feetlong and is 15 feet below the water table.

/ V / \ i u18 - 71' \ J 23'

The wells will be sampled for the SWCB's required parametersby Winarick. It may be very valuable for the VDWM or EPA to samplethe wells ' for TAL/TCL analytes to obtain more information aboutgroundwater contamination.

May 18, 1990

The contractor sampled the remainder of the groundwater wells:MW-13, MW-12, MW-10, MW-9, and MW-8. In addition, the contractortook a field blank at 15:50. The battery in the conductivity meterbegan to go dead at MW-12 (at 12:00) and was replaced during thelunch break.

AR300863

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Groundwater Levels

Well

MW-1MW-2MW-3MW-5MW-6MW-7MW-8MW-9MW-10MW-12MW-13

Stickup (ft)

2.231.932.01-0.261.75

(flush-mount)(flush-mount)

1.882.021.942.20

Depth (ft)April 16-17, 1990

19.9818.1319.1112.81175012.6013.2616.6013.573.943.60

Depth (ft)May 17-18, 1990

19.7518.0719.1712.4117.4012.5113.3116.5414.134.573.20

AR30Q86

department of waste management - … · department of waste management 11 th floor, ... samples in...

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