LUCKEY FUSRAP SITE SAFELY TRANSPORTS 5,000th TRUCKLOAD OF MATERIAL FOR DISPOSAL – PHASE 1 EXCAVATION COMPLETE

Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District
Published July 31, 2020
Five-thousandth shipment of FUSRAP-related material on the scales at the Luckey Site.  Each truckload averages approximately 16.5 tons of FUSRAP-related material.

Five-thousandth shipment of FUSRAP-related material on the scales at the Luckey Site. Each truckload averages approximately 16.5 tons of FUSRAP-related material.

Five-thousandth shipment of FUSRAP-related material on the scales at the Luckey Site.  Each truckload averages approximately 16.5 tons of FUSRAP-related material.

Five-thousandth shipment of FUSRAP-related material on the scales at the Luckey Site. Each truckload averages approximately 16.5 tons of FUSRAP-related material.

Five-thousandth shipment of FUSRAP-related material on the scales at the Luckey Site.  Each truckload averages approximately 16.5 tons of FUSRAP-related material.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and contract employees in front of 5,000th truckload of FUSRAP-related material to leave the Luckey Site for disposal in Belleville, Michigan.

BUFFALO, NY –The 5,000th truck left the Luckey Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program Site today, loaded with material contaminated with beryllium, radium-226, thorium-230, uranium-234, uranium-238, and lead, which marks the substantial completion of Phase 1.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District contractor began shipping FUSRAP-related material from the Luckey Site in June 2018.  Over 725,000 truck miles were travelled; safely transporting 83,839 tons of contaminated material off-site for disposal in Belleville, Michigan. 

Each truckload averages approximately 16.5 tons of material and typically 70 truckloads leave the site each week.  Since the cleanup contract was awarded in 2015, the Corps of Engineers’ contractor has worked over 370,000 hours without a lost time accident.  Cleanup began in the Phase 1 excavation area on April 16, 2018, and currently verification samples are being collected to confirm the area is complete.  Overall, the entire cleanup is 37% complete.

“I’m incredibly proud of our team’s safe execution of the FUSRAP mission at this major milestone in the Luckey project,” said Lt. Col. Eli S. Adams, USACE Buffalo District Commander.  “Our top priority during the cleanup continues to be the safety and protection of human health for both our community and the workforce as well as securing the health of the environment.  I have family who live and work just a short distance away from this site so it is especially rewarding work for me personally.  We are also actively monitoring the evolving COVID-19 situation and are in regular communication with our personnel and contractors to emphasize the importance of taking appropriate actions -- such as social distancing, wearing appropriate protective equipment, temperature screening of individuals before entry into the site, and personal hygiene measures -- to safeguard employee health and welfare while working during the pandemic.”

The Corps of Engineers, is the lead federal agency for FUSRAP, and implements the program following the framework of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).  FUSRAP was initiated to identify, investigate, and, if necessary, clean up or control sites throughout the U.S. contaminated as a result of Manhattan Engineer District or early Atomic Energy Commission activities.

From 1949 to 1958, the Luckey Site, which is located at 21200 Luckey Road near the Village of Luckey, Ohio, was operated as a beryllium production facility under a contract with the Atomic Energy Commission, resulting in beryllium, radionuclide, and lead contamination of site soils and groundwater.  In 1974, The Luckey Site was designated for inclusion in FUSRAP by the U.S. Department of Energy during 1992.  In 1997 Congress transferred administration and execution of FUSRAP cleanups from the U.S. Department of Energy to the Corps of Engineers.

The Luckey Site is being cleaned up in accordance with a 2006 record of decision for the site soils.  The remedy for groundwater is monitored natural attenuation of groundwater.  Once the contaminated soil is removed from the site, concentrations of these contaminants in groundwater will decrease naturally in the subsurface.  Groundwater wells will be sampled annually for beryllium, lead, and uranium until sampling results show a progressive trend that indicates safe drinking water standards have been met.

An infographic tracking cleanup progress is posted weekly to the web at https://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Missions/HTRW/FUSRAP/Luckey-Site/.  Those interested in receiving email Luckey Site updates on progress made at the site can email fusrap@usace.army.mil.