HWY 79 OFF MIDDLETOWN RD
The Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAAP) is a 19,127 acre site that was listed on the Superfund NPL in 1990. The IAAAP is an active manufacturing facility. The primary activity at the IAAAP since 1941 has been to load, assemble, and pack a variety of conventional ammunition and fusing systems for the Department of Defense. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) operated at Line 1 of the IAAAP from 1948 to 1975 assembling nuclear weapons. Because of past AEC activity at the site, portions of the IAAAP have been designated for inclusion in the Army Corps of Engineers Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The FUSRAP was created to evaluate and remediate environmental impacts associated with past AEC operations. Wastes produced at IAAAP consist of various explosive-laden sludges, wastewaters, and solids, lead-contaminated sludges, ashes from incineration and open burning of explosives, and waste solvents from industrial and laboratory operations. Past operations also generated waste pesticides and incendiaries. Radioactive wastes may have been generated by AEC weapons assembly operations. The Army has identified a number of potentially contaminated areas at the IAAAP, including 2 abandoned explosive-wastewater settling lagoons, the Line 800 Pinkwater Lagoon and the fomer Line 1 Impoundment. These lagoons were used to settle out explosives-contaminated wastewaters prior to discharge into Brush Creek until approximately 1957. Approximately 80,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments were held in the lagoons, which have since been remediated. Approximately 100 people live within 3 miles of the site. Some obtain drinking water from private wells. In the spring of 1993, the Army analyzed water samples from the wells of residences located just south of the IAAAP. Two of the wells were found to contain explosives at levels exceeding health advisory limits. The Army offered alternate water supplies to all potentially impacted residents south of the IAAAP and provided connections for all residents who so desired. Surface water within 3 miles downstream of the site is used for recreational activities. Site Responsibility: This site is being addressed by the Army with oversight by the EPA and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The Iowa Department of Public Health provides oversight of matters associated with possible radiological contamination
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