USACE to host Shallow Land Disposal Area public information session

Pittsburgh District
Published Oct. 28, 2024
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has plans to clean up and remediate the Shallow Land Disposal Area in Vandergrift beginning 2025.

A construction crew prepares the area for eventual remediation at the Shallow Land Disposal Area in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, Sept. 28, 2023. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has plans to clean up and remediate the Shallow Land Disposal Area in Vandergrift beginning 2025. The site encompasses 44 acres of privately owned land with 10 trenches of buried radiological and non-radiological waste. The nation’s early atomic weapons and energy program used the SLDA to dispose low-level radioactive material used for nuclear-powered submarine and power-plant fuel. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh and Buffalo districts are working together to inform the local communities about the cleanup project. The Buffalo District is the lead for designing and completing the remediation project. The Pittsburgh District is responsible for public outreach to update communities about the project’s progress. The districts will host multiple public information sessions before and throughout the remediation process. Residents who want to submit questions or want to know more about the project can visit the SLDA project page for more information. The Pittsburgh District website provides an interactive guide and answers to frequently asked questions: https://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Planning-Programs-Project-Management/Key-Projects/Shallow-Land-Disposal-Area (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District photo by Michel Sauret)

WHO: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh and Buffalo districts

WHAT: Pittsburgh and Buffalo districts’ staff will update the public on the project’s status, upcoming site activities, and other topics of public interest for the Shallow Land Disposal Area site. USACE and its partners will be on hand, before and after the formal presentation, at various display stations to allow the public to ask questions about specific aspects of the project.

WHERE: Parks Township Fire Department at 1119 Dalmation Drive, Vandergrift, PA 15690

WHEN: Thursday, Nov 7: Doors open for display stations: 6:30 p.m.

Information session briefing: 7 – 8:30 p.m.

WHY: The public information session furthers USACE’s efforts for transparency regarding the SLDA remediation process.

The public can submit questions before the meeting by emailing CELRP-PA@usace.army.mil or calling 412-395-7500.

Background

The SLDA site, encompassing 44 acres of privately-owned land, is approximately 23 miles east-northeast of Pittsburgh in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. It is on the right bank of the Kiskiminetas River, a tributary of the Allegheny River, near the communities of Apollo and Vandergrift. Radioactive waste disposal operations were conducted between 1960 and 1970 at the site.

Low-level radioactive materials, used primarily for nuclear-powered submarine and power-plant fuel, were produced under the Atomic Energy Commission contracts, and eventually disposed of at the SLDA site. Disposal operations were conducted by the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) firm in the early 1960s. The Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) purchased stock in NUMEC in 1967 and sold the stock to BWX Technologies in 1971. BWXT is the current owner of the SLDA site.

A 2002 law directed the site be added to the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The program was initiated to identify, investigate, clean up, or control sites throughout the United States contaminated by the Nation’s atomic weapons and energy programs.

For more information, visit the Army Corps’ SLDA website: https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/Mission/Projects/Article/3646985/shallow-land-disposal-area/

Copies of the Remedial Investigation Report, Feasibility Study, Record of Decision (including amendment), and other documents are available online and at the Apollo Memorial Library, 219 North Pennsylvania Avenue, Apollo, PA 15613-1397.

Contact the Pittsburgh District Public Affairs Office at CELRP-PA@usace.army.mil or (412) 395-7500 for more information.

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Contact
Public Affairs Office
412-395-7500
CELRP-PA@usace.army.mil
1000 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Release no. 24-150