Site Narrative:
Schilling Atlas Missile S-3 was an intercontinental ballistic missile launch facility in the early 1960s and decommissioned in 1965. It is located in Dickinson County, Kansas, approximately 2 miles west of Chapman and approximately 11 miles northeast of Abilene. The site consists of about 18 acres. The area around the site is rural, sparsely populated, and is used mostly as pastureland. In1966 it was transferred to the Kansas State Engineering School for use in a research program. Currently, the property is privately owned by the adjacent landowner, unoccupied, and used primarily as hayfields.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) conducted an initial site visit in 1985. During a site visit in 1988 the site was described as having been recently mowed with no stress to vegetation observed. The only remaining buildings noted were the pump house and water treatment building; the security fence had been removed. The 1990 O'Brien and Gere Report noted discussions with the property owner about a demolition landfill that was said to have been placed on the site north of the launch control center entrance. There is no other information available regarding this potential demolition landfill. During the 1990 study two monitoring wells (MWs) were installed and surface soil samples were collected; all medias were analyzed for VOCs, SVOCs, and metals. Trichloroethene (TCE) was detected on-site at a concentration of 4 micrograms per liter (µg/L), below its maximum contaminant level of 5 µg/L, and methylene chloride at 16.8 µg/L (the Tier 2 RSK value is 5 µg/L).
USACE conducted another site visit in 1993 to investigate two underground storage tanks (USTs) possibly still on-site. Since there was no visual evidence that the USTs had been removed, USACE proposed to remove them and also abandon the existing monitoring wells. However, right of entry was denied; the USTs may remain on-site.
EPA conducted a pre-CERCLIS screening assessment in 2001, and concluded that further pre-remedial activity was warranted. EPA completed a Preliminary Assessment (PA) in February 2006. The PA report (EPA, 2006) presented findings of soil, sediment, missile silo water, and groundwater sampling. Groundwater samples were collected from two on-site monitoring wells and seven private drinking water wells. Arsenic, lead, and TCE were detected above screening values in the on-site monitoring wells but only lead exceeded its action level. TCE was also detected, below its MCL, in a private well at a concentration of 1.1 ug/L. Arsenic exceeded its cancer risk screening concentration in one deep soil sample. The report concluded that nearby residents could be exposed to contaminated groundwater, and recommended additional investigation to characterize the nature and extent of contamination.
A Site Inspection was conducted in 2011 at S-3. Surface soil, subsurface soil, and groundwater samples were collected, along with the installation of two new monitoring wells. Based on those results, USACE collected water samples from nine residential wells surrounding the Site and conducted a Remedial Investigation. During the investigation, TCE was not detected above the maximum contaminant level of 5 micrograms per liter.
A no further action determination for the site was concurred by KDHE on September 19, 2017 |