Remedial Action and Final Radiological Status, 1964 B-58 Accident Site, Grissom Air Reserve Base, Bunker Hill, Indiana
Abstract
On 8 December 1964, during a routine Operational Readiness Inspection, a B-58 strategic bomber skidded off the runway a Bunker Hill AFB IN (later named Grissom AFB). The consequence of the accident was a fire and destruction of five nuclear weapons on the aircraft. The high explosives in the weapon did not detonate, but melted and burned, leaving residual radioactive contamination in soils adjacent to the runway. The contaminated area was excavated and buried along with the aircraft wreckage at a different location on base. The burial site is now part of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. In 1999, AFIERA performed a radiological characterization of the site IERA-SD-TR-2000-0002 (Available from NTIS). The results of the survey confirm that a small area of the investigation region contained depleted uranium (DU). AFIERA developed a remedial action plan for the site IERA-SD-TR-2000-OO 11 (Available from NTIS). The goal was to select areas for remediation where surface soils DU contamination levels exceeded 6.4 pCi/g of DU, with a final status goal not to exceed 8 pCi/g. This report describes remedial actions completed and final site status. An area of 300 square meters was remediated, with excavated volume estimated at 105 cubic meters. The residual DU on the site is estimated at 1.3 pCi/g, based on final status soil samples. The remedial action met all goals. Although the installation has no present interest in utilization of the site for other purposes, the site meets unrestricted public use criteria recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency. No further remedial actions are recommended for the site.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA387061
Entities
People
- Brian Renaghan
- Steven E. Rademacher