Bethel performed a lead-contaminated soil removal at a VHF Omni Directional Radio Range (VOR) facility on Woody Island, near Kodiak, Alaska. In coordination with the demolition and rebuild of the VOR’s overhead counterpoise, Bethel was tasked with removing soil that had been contaminated with lead-based paint that had shed from the counterpoise and its support structure during its decades-long use.
Executing this removal action included coordinating multiple entities to work together to excavate approximately 410 cubic yards (CY) of soil that exceeded the direct contact cleanup level for lead and transport it to the Columbia Ridge Landfill in Arlington, Oregon. Due to the remote nature of the site, soil had to be handled no fewer than 15 times from the point of generation to tipping at the landfill.
The project was originally scheduled to take place after another government contractor demolished the counterpoise and before it was rebuilt at the same location. However, after several delays in the demolition schedule, Bethel was asked to move forward with the lead remediation work beneath the counterpoise, which extended over 60 feet from the VOR building at a height of 10 feet. Bethel proposed an alternate remediation plan that utilized smaller equipment that would work beneath the activated VOR, which the FAA endorsed. The remediation was completed in October 2016 with analytical sample results all meeting the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) cleanup level for lead.
Other tasks completed under this contract included the removal of approximately 10 CY of concrete and a 70-foot long creosote pole.
Work performed
- Work Plan Preparation and Approval
- Field-Screening for Metals with an XRF
- Composite Soil Sampling
- Working at an Active Navigational Aid
- Waste Disposal
- Site Restoration
- Regulatory Closure
