BUFFALO - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took appropriate remedial and disposal actions concerning the waste from the Linde site in Tonawanda, New York, as part of its Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. That was the finding of an audit just completed by the U.S. Army Audit Agency.

The Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) requested the audit in May 2000. The auditors were asked to determine if the Corps had taken appropriate actions at both the Linde site and the Safety-Kleen disposal facility in Buttonwillow, California; if those actions were protective of human health, safety and the environment; and if they were consistent with applicable Federal, State and local requirements.

In the report, delivered to the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) on April 16, 2001, the auditors determined that the actions taken by the Corps and its contractors were fully protective of human health, safety and the environment. All remedial activities at the sites were found to be in full compliance with Federal, State and local requirements.

The auditors found that the Linde materials were properly sampled and characterized and that disposal of the materials at Safety-Kleen's Buttonwillow facility was cost effective and consistent with applicable legal requirements. The disposal facility is a state-permitted site found to have controls equal to or surpassing those used by Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed facilities; accordingly, the Corps does not need to move the material from Buttonwillow.

The Corps has agreed to address four areas identified in the audit to ensure that future actions are similarly successful. Those actions include reviewing legal and contracting processes, ensuring that project cost claims are adequately verified, and expanding and reinforcing guidance for sampling, characterization and management of radioactive waste.

The Buffalo District recently reached a quarter-million-ton milestone for material shipped from the Tonawanda area under FUSRAP. The current total for material shipped from the Linde site is 52,400 tons. They have worked 434 days at the site without a lost-time accident.