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SWMU Building 43 RCRA Facility Investigation Report Addendum
Section 2 - Field Investigation
On March 6, 2003, ten additional surface soil samples were collected at SWMU Building 43 to define the horizontal extent of contamination, as recommended in the RFI. Sample locations, shown in Figure 8, were selected based on results of the Phase I RFI sampling, and extended outward from known areas of above-background contamination. APPL Laboratory in Fresno, California analyzed each surface soil sample for barium, chromium, copper, nickel, and zinc using EPA method SW-6010B, arsenic by EPA method SW-7060A, cadmium by EPA method SW-7131A, lead by EPA method SW-7421, and mercury by SW-7471A. These metals are the metals that were detected at above-background concentrations during the Phase I sampling effort. No indication of surface or buried waste management activities was evident during the field effort. All decontamination, sample preparation, and sample handling followed protocols established in the Sampling and Analysis Plan (Volume 1-4, Field Sampling Plan and Quality Assurance Project Plan [QAPP]). All sampling points were predetermined before the fieldwork was performed. Parsons field crew located the predetermined sampling points in the field using a Trimble Asset-grade geographic positioning system (GPS). All sample locations and analytical data have been incorporated into the CSSA geographic information system (GIS).
A full tabulation of results is provided in Table 4. Metals were detected above RRS1 criteria (background) in each of the surface soil samples. All metals except arsenic, chromium, and nickel exceeded RRS1 criteria. Copper was detected more than any other metal and detected at the highest concentrations. Copper exceeded its RRS1 criteria of 23.2 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) in nine samples, the lowest reported concentration of 19.71 mg/kg coming from the BLDG43-SS07 sample. The highest reported copper concentration 5,708.65 was from sample BLDG43-SS01. The average copper exceedance is 1,083.29 mg/kg. Zinc exceeded its RRS1 concentration of 73.2 mg/kg in six samples. The highest reported zinc concentration is 2,682.11 mg/kg in BLDG34-SS01, while the average zinc exceedance is 809.66 mg/kg. Barium exceeded its RRS1 concentration of 186 mg/kg in one sample, BLDG43-SS01, with a reported concentration of 1,546.91 mg/kg. Cadmium exceeded its RRS1 concentration of 3 mg/kg in BLDG43-SS01 and BLDG43-SS03, with reported concentrations of 18.15 mg/kg and 4.67 mg/kg, respectively. Lead and mercury each exceeded their respective RRS1 concentrations three times. Lead exceeded its RRS1 concentration of 84.5 mg/kg in BLDG43-SS01, BLDG43-SS02, and BLDG43-SS03, with reported concentrations of 315.3 mg/kg, 135.31 mg/kg, and 368.55 mg/kg, respectively. Mercury exceeded its RRS1 concentration of 0.77 mg/kg in BLDG43-SS04, BLDG43-SS05, and BLDG43-SS07, with reported concentrations of 2.11 mg/kg, 1.02 mg/kg, and 0.85 mg/kg, respectively.