Parks Township nuclear waste cleanup now set to start in fall

The Army Corps of Engineers is targeting this fall to start cleanup of the Parks Township nuclear waste dump, which marks a slight delay caused by harsh winter weather from previously announced dates.

“From the beginning, we have emphasized that safety will dictate the pace of the project,” said Lt. Col. Robert Burnham, commander of the Army Corps’ Buffalo, N.Y., district. “This year, an extremely cold winter and high winds have played their part, but our commitment to this community remains unwavering.”

The Buffalo district, with its expertise in dealing with hazardous waste, is collaborating with Army Corps officials in Pittsburgh to clean up the 44-acre site in the township’s Kiskimere neighborhood.

The Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corp. (NUMEC) operated on the site in the 1960s and early ’70s, leaving behind enriched uranium and other harmful substances, not to mention a community fearful of possible health detriments.

Residents near the Shallow Land Disposal Area, as it’s known by federal agencies, have watched several large structures go up in recent months that will be used to dig up and ship out 10 trenches worth of radioactive and otherwise toxic waste.

So far, Army Corps contractors have built a lab, wastewater treatment plant and materials-processing building. They’ve made good progress, according to Army Corps project manager Steve Vriesen, on the first excavation building and waste processing facility.

All materials removed from the ground will undergo X-rays and be tested with radiological instruments. They will then be packed into containers and moved by truck to a facility in Wampum, Lawrence County, about 60 miles northwest of Parks Township. From there, they’ll be loaded onto a train and taken for permanent disposal in Utah.

Remediation is expected to take about seven years and cost more than half a billion dollars.

A past, $176 million cleanup attempt was halted in 2011 after the Army Corps said it found evidence of severe safety violations by its then-contractor.

The Army Corps has obtained full funding for its $435 million contract with Amentum, formerly Jacobs Technology, and will accepts bids for a $250 million to $500 million supplemental contract as soon as this spring.

The project is backed by Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) funding. Congress appropriated more money than expected in its latest budget, according to Vriesen, setting the project on an encouraging financial trajectory.

For more than a decade, the Army Corps has held semi-annual public information sessions in Parks Township. The most recent was in November, where residents raised concerns about worst-case scenarios, like a spill during transportation.

Officials at the time said preparedness plans were still being crafted, but work would not begin without them.

“We have made more progress on those plans and we do intend to address that at the upcoming meeting,” Vriesen said Friday. “In addition, we’ve continued our monthly routine of meeting with local first responders.”

Emergency services also will soon participate in tabletop planning exercises and, finally, a “full-scale, on-site emergency drill,” he added.

The next information session is set for 6:30 p.m. June 5 at the Parks Township Volunteer Fire Department, 1119 Dalmation Drive. Residents from all communities are invited to attend.