The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh and Buffalo districts co-hosted a public information session to discuss USACE's efforts to ensure transparency regarding the Shallow Land Disposal Area's cleanup process.
Pittsburgh and Buffalo districts’ staff updated 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 were on hand, before and after the formal presentation, at various display stations to answer questions about specific aspects of the project.
The meeting took place at the Parks Township Fire Department at 1119 Dalmation Drive, Vandergrift, PA 15690 on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.
The public can submit questions 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: www.lrd.usace.army.mil/Missio...
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.