About the Guterl Steel Site
The former Simonds Saw and Steel Company, located in Lockport, New York, was contracted by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to conduct work in support of the Nation's early atomic energy and weapons program. Between 1948 and 1956 the facility was used for foundry work and rolling mill operations on over 25-million pounds of uranium metals and over 30-thousand pounds of thorium metals. Simonds Saw and Steel was sold to Wallace and Murray, and then sold to Guterl Specialty Steel Corporation. In March 1984 Allegheny International (Allegheny Ludlum Corporation now Allegheny Technologies Incorporated [ATI Specialty Materials]) purchased the entire site with the exception of those areas that had been used during the AEC activities.
Project Status
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the Record of Decision for the Former Guterl Specialty Steel Corporation Site under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The record of decision (ROD) marks the completion of the final step in the federal decision-making process for addressing legacy contamination at the site and describes the final selected remedy to address contaminated buildings, soil and groundwater at the Guterl Site. Details on the selected remedy can be found below.
The public provided their comments on the proposed plan, from July 12, 2021, to September 10, 2021, and to provide input on the proposed remedial actions that will be used for cleanup efforts at the Guterl Site. Site-Wide Alternative 3, described in the proposed plan, is now the selected remedy to address contaminated buildings, soil, and groundwater at the Guterl Site. The ROD and supporting documents can be accessed through the links below.
The selected remedy includes dismantlement and off-site disposal of buildings that were involved in Atomic Energy Commission activities during the 1940s and 1950s; complete soil removal to the soil remediation goal for groundwater protection and off-site disposal; and uranium groundwater plume recovery using extraction wells and an on-site rubblized trench with ex situ treatment (extracting the water out of the ground and running it through a treatment system), with environmental monitoring of groundwater plume reduction. FUSRAP-related material that is removed will be transported off-site for disposal at an appropriately permitted disposal facility.
The selected remedy is protective of human health and the environment. It complies with federal and state requirements applicable or relevant and appropriate to the remedial action. The selected remedy is cost-effective, utilizes permanent solutions and alternative treatment technologies to the maximum extent practicable.
The Administrative Record, including the ROD, and supporting documents, provide details of the selected remedy for remedial action to address the FUSRAP-related constituents of concern (thorium-232 and uranium in soil and buildings, and uranium in groundwater). In addition to the links below, they are also available on the 3rd floor of the Lockport Public Library, 23 East Avenue, Lockport, N.Y. 14094.
Contact
1-800-833-6390 (Option 4)
fusrap@usace.army.mil
478 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202
Documents
Documents supporting the Former Guterl Steel Corporation FUSRAP site can be accessed below