Agency spokesmen address NIKE site concerns

KNIK -- Although new information is still forthcoming, pending a wrap-up of testing data performed by a contractor with Knik Tribal Council, representatives from two government agencies were on hand last week to speak to concerns from residents living in the area of the Point MacKenzie Goose Bay former nuclear missle launch site.

Army Corps of Engineers project manager Robert Johnson and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation's John Halverson were on hand Thursday at a joint meeting of the Point MacKenzie and Knik Fairview Loop Community Councils. The two discussed some of the preliminary findings from testing done by Portage Environmental during the summer. Although the results of the tests are only in draft form, Halverson and Johnson expressed concerns about some of the findings.

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyl, were found in the landfill area at the site. The colorless, odorless viscous liquid is used in various industrial processes and doesn't lose toxicity over time, as many other pollutants do.

"There were two out of 10 sediment samples along that pond [near the landfill site] that had measurable levels of PCBs," Halverson said. "PCBs are chemicals that don't degrade over time. And they do migrate through the food chain."

Although property owners were concerned about possible well-water contamination by PCBs, Halverson said property owners have less to worry about than the state does.

"The groundwater flow in the area is going to be generally toward the inlet," Halverson said.

Although evidence of PCBs is never reassuring, Halverson and Johnson said the levels in the preliminary testing data were well below levels considered hazardous. One part per million, Halverson said, is the minimum amount needed to close a surface well and mandate cleanup. The preliminary data available indicated 41 parts per billion were found at a beaver dam area on the site. In another site, about 15 parts per billion were found.

The PCBs, along with trichloroethylene, a chemical generally used as a cleaning solvent, are two of the chemicals Halverson said were the most toxic found at the site. Other fuel contaminants were also found, he said, such as benzyne and toulene. The fuel contaminants and trichloroethylene can all be treated for removal, but removal of PCBs is typically much less effective.

Halverson added that, although 120 samples were taken and several samples were done in the area before last summer's round of testing, the range of the potential contaminants around the site is still largely a mystery.

"The sampling done out there doesn't characterize to the full extent what's out there," Halverson said.

He added that community input and support gathered from meetings such as the meeting held Thursday could go a long way toward helping government agencies justify the millions of dollars it will take to clean up the site. The community input generated has already paid off in the cleanup efforts that took place during the summer at land owned by the University of Alaska. Before the issue was raised by the community, he said, the former nuclear missile launch site sat largely untouched by its owner agencies and groups for nearly 15 years. The site was not, however, untouched by the community, Halverson said.

"Obviously, it's kind of an attractive nuisance," Halverson said. "People had tried to get in there and do what they will …"

The idea that the asbestos-strewn land and open holes in the land around the site could leave the agencies liable for accidents incurred by trespassers, Halverson said, sparked the beginning of the cleanup project. Holes leading to utility corridors have been largely cemented over and much of the asbestos has been removed, through a project taken on last year by the University of Alaska.

Halverson said the Department of Natural Resources has cleanup plans slated for the coming construction season. Johnson reiterated previous estimates that the Army Corps of Engineers will receive cleanup funding for the site in 2005 and 2006.

Halverson and Johnson, along with Mat-Su Borough Assembly member Jody Simpson and Point MacKenzie Community Council President Art Scates, both of whom helped generate community involvement and interest on the project, said there may be a natural next step available that would help generate funding. A restoration advisory board can be set up through the agencies involved and, although the rules guiding such a board can be strict, Halverson said the board would be eligible for some funding and may be able to leverage additional cleanup funds such as technical assistance grants. Halverson and Johnson both agreed to attend an as-yet-to-be-scheduled meeting to let people interested in spurring on cleanup at the site know more about how to set up such a board. In the meantime, community members agreed with the agency officials that education was likely the best key to keeping the community safe from dangers lingering at the site.

"I think the best thing for security out there is educating the public that it is dangerous," one community member said. "There is chemical danger out there, there is physical danger."

Simpson agreed, but reminded the audience of another important factor.

"The other thing that's important to remember is, when you're on that property, you're in trespass," Simpson said.