2011 Honor Award - Small Projects

Wainwright Short Range Radar Station Interim Removal Action

Location: Wainwright, Alaska
Entrant: Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.
Engineer in Charge: Todd Kasteler, P.E.
Media Contact: Jillian Ladegard; 907-563-3311; Jillian.Ladegard@jacobs.com

Jacobs field staff mobilize to eroding landfill site on the Arctic Ocean to conduct a 2-month long winter removal action.	Excavating frozen soil during interim removal action activities at the Wainwright Short Range Relay Station on the Arctic Ocean.	The Wainwright Short Range Relay Station landfill interim removal action project site encompassed over 4 acres of land and sea ice to facilitate the excavation and removal of 4,500 tons of contaminated soil from an eroding 1950's era landfill.
The Wainwright Short Range Relay Station Interim Removal Action project centered around the use of a fully equipped onsite field laboratory to characterize chemical contamination uncovered during excavation activities.	Sea ice stating areas and access routes were used to facilitate the Wainwright Short Range Relay Station landfill interim removal action. Over twice the quantity of contaminated soil was discovered requiring a continuous 24-hour work schedule in order to complete the project before the spring thaw and ice route disintegration.	Night activites at the Wainwright Short Range Relay Station included containerization of over 4,500 tons of contaminated soil and debris.

Entrant Profile

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. collaborated with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, with input from the US Air Force and State of Alaska regulatory agencies, to investigate and remediate a remote Short Range Radar Station Cold War Ear landfill along Alaska's Arctic Slope.

The project was executed, 90 miles from the nearest city, on a 24-hour schedule, during inclement Arctic winter conditions including wind chill temperatures to -85 F and zero visibility. Despite numerous challenges project was accomplished under budget and ahead of schedule.

The Wainwright SRRS IRA project site was accessed from a small coastal village via a 14 mile shore-fast inlet ice route. The remote project location challenged onsite personnel to implement rigorous coordination and planning to manage essential project procurement, transportation, and logistics.

In order to characterize the heterogeneous and potentially hazardous landfill, a grid based georeferenced system was combined with an advanced onsite analytical laboratory. Gas chromatographs equipped with columns to minimize baseline rise and bleed through were evaluated prior to fieldwork to ensure rapid and accurate field results. These innovations allowed the field team to precisely and efficiently characterize contaminated soil onsite, reduce waste generated, optimize field resources, and save over $2.3M dollars of project costs.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. Alaska Operation's market focus is on excellence in the fields of environmental consulting including remediation, investigation, system operation and maintenance, environmental compliance and project management. Jacobs Engineering is one of the world's largest and most diverse providers of technical, professional, and construction services.

Project Description

The 2010 Wainwright Short Range Radar Site (SRRS) Interim Removal Action (IRA) successfully removed contamination from an Arctic Slope landfill utilizing sea-ice access routes to investigate, characterize, segregate and containerize 4,500 tons of contaminated material and hazardous wastes. Executed during the winter, the project was completed under budget and ahead of schedule with over 21,000 field hours worked and zero incidents or accidents. The successful integration of investigation and removal methodologies prompted the US Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District (USACE) to highlight the project in the 2010 annual Report to Congress.

Integrated Approach

The Wainwright IRA was executed to prevent the continued release of contamination and debris into the environment. Jacobs proposed to segregate contaminated soils, hazardous waste, metal debris and clean soils onsite to reduce the amount of waste generated from an estimated 14,595 tons to 4,500 tons. This reduction in waste decreased material sent to the disposal facility and reduced carbon emissions by requiring less fossil fuel to transport material 3,000 miles.

The selection of a winter field effort schedule allowed the use of a shore-fast inlet ice access route to minimize tundra damage. The frozen shore-fast ice permitted excavation activities to continue below sea level without negatively impacting the aquatic environment through sediment migration or contaminate runoff.

Quality

The successful execution of the Wainwright IRA directly resulted in the award of follow-on Arctic Slope work with USACE including a request to design a freezeback landfill for the remaining SRRS structures, and a contract to perform Quality Control / Quality Assurance oversight for USACE in 2011. Due to effective demonstration of a rigorous Quality Control program during the planning and design phase, and comprehensive daily and weekly status reports during execution, USACE did not require Quality Assurance oversight on the project.

Originality and Innovation

To overcome technical and logistical challenges, improve efficiency, and reduce costs, Jacobs developed a variety of innovative approaches and integrated past experience and lessons learned with emerging technologies.

Jacobs proposed and utilized an onsite analytical laboratory to perform real-time analysis on landfill contents. The laboratory utilized two gas chromatographs (GC) to evaluate soils for Diesel Range Organics, Residual Range Organics, and Poly Chlorinated Biphenyl(PCB) contamination. Equipment evaluations were performed prior to field work to minimize false-positive results. The use of streamlined sample extraction procedures coupled with on-site laboratory grade analytical instrumentation, provided accurate results that were used daily to guide landfill excavation and segregation activities resulting in over $500,000 of cost savings.

The project as presented included costs to transport and dispose of the entire volume of the landfill 9,730 cy. Jacobs proposed additional crews to segregate inert debris from the clean soil eliminating the need to containerize and transport clean soil from the LF006 site. Through manual and mechanical separation techniques, over 5,000 cy of clean soil was left onsite.

Jacobs utilized a grid based excavation to guide investigation activities, prevent cross contamination, and to characterize contaminated soil and debris. The grid covered the extent of the landfill into 20 by 20 foot grids. Excavation and sampling progress was tracked and distributed on georeferenced GIS images to identify the clean boundaries and remaining contamination. Due to the implementation of an innovative soil segregating and waste minimization solution, the 2010 IRA was able to containerize and remove 1,020 tons of PCB-contaminated soil, 3,325 tons of POL soil, 150 tons of scrap metal, 10 tons of used tires and 3 tons of hazardous material from the Wainwright landfill.

Jacobs proposed and implemented innovative solutions to generate over $2.37M of cost savings and through value engineering.

Quality

The primary goal of this project was to investigate, characterize, segregate, and containerize unknown quantities of contaminated material and potential hazardous wastes contained within and eroding from Landfill 006 into the Wainwright Inlet. The isolated nature of the project site, coupled with the unknown contaminants and quantities, exponentially increased project complexity. Additionally, the project had to be completed before Spring temperatures compromised the integrity of the ice access route and staging areas. In order to complete field work before breakup, field crews worked double shifts, 24-hours per day and seven days a week as the project moved toward completion and temperatures climbed above freezing.

The project approach efficiently coupled the investigation and removal processes by establishing a grid-based excavation strategy to limit cross contamination and guide characterization and removal activities. Clean soil remained onsite, and all debris was selectively removed for containerization and disposal. Source contamination including asbestos containing material, PCB capacitors, transformers, lubrication oil, oil drums, resin drums, electrical components, lead-acid batteries, oil filters, paint cans, and equipment parts was segregated and removed from the excavation. All scrap metal, and nonhazardous contaminated soil removed from the landfill was staged in stockpiles at the Waste Staging Area. This area consisted of four stockpiles positioned on a high gravel bar along the Chukchi Sea coast.

Social and Economic Contributions

The Wainwright IRA project was based out of the small Arctic Slope village of Wainwright, a community accessible only by plane. Jacobs teamed with the local contractor to utilize local equipment and labor to complete the project. The project provided on-the-job training opportunities for the local labor force. Jacobs managed a subcontract with the local Native-Alaskan owned company Olgoonik Environmental Services (OES) to provide civil support. Close oversight and mentorship during the Wainwright project broadened OES' experience base and positioned the company to apply for upcoming federally funded environmental work in the local community. The USACE has since awarded small scale environmental cleanup projects directly to OES contributing to their economic advancement.

The contamination eroding from Landfill 006 was a serious concern for many locals who participate in Native Alaskan subsistence activities. These individuals routinely fish and hunt in the area affected by the landfill. Involving community leaders during the project planning phases and the fieldwork, allowed the community to participate and take pride in the stewardship of their ancestral lands.

Over 7 miles of ice routes across the Arctic Ocean were constructed and maintained to facilitate the excavation, removal, and containerization of over 4,500 tons of contaminated soil and debris.	The shore of Wainwright inlet where the water has started to erod the landfill.	Daily operations at LF006 looking East. Two excavators are working, filling and loading Supersacks for transport.
Aerial view of finished location LF006.	LF006 site overview.	Morning sunrise over operations at LF006 being supervised by caribou on horizon.
Sunrise over Tupkak Bar staging area.	Excavator removing scrap metal.	Equipment stacking supersacks of contaminated soil at Tupkak Bar to await removal by barge.
Aerial view of Tupkak Bar during the barge season.	Working with the supersacks of contaminated material.	Sunset at the Short Range Radar Station with caribou.
LF006 Excavation Grid Update 042610	Supersack Loading and Hauling Looking West.