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NPL Site Narrative for Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station
CHERRY POINT MARINE CORPS AIR STATION
Havelock, North Carolina
Federal Register Notice: December 16, 1994Conditions at Proposal (August 23, 1994): Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station is located within Havelock, Craven County, North Carolina. The air station covers 11,485 acres and is located on a peninsula between the Neuse River to the north and Core and Bogue Sounds to the south.
The air station was commissioned in 1942 and a massive aircraft assembly and repair facility, which later became the Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP), was added in 1943. The NADEP Flight Line and Maintenance and Support Squadron are the primary generators of waste. Hazardous wastes generated by the air station include plating wastes which contain heavy metals and cyanides; organic solvents, paint removers and cleaners; waste petroleum, oil and lubricants; and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) wastes. Prior to 1982, most hazardous wastes were disposed on site. Presently, hazardous wastes are placed in drums and sent to the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office hazardous waste storage facility for disposal off-site. Other hazardous and non-hazardous wastes are piped to the industrial wastewater treatment plant at the air station. Discharge of treated wastewater to Slocum Creek is permitted under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
The air station submitted a RCRA Part A application on November 18, 1980, for the storage and treatment of hazardous wastes. The Part A application was modified and resubmitted on May 28, 1981. The air station submitted the first version of the Part B application on November 4, 1984 and submitted revisions in 1986, 1987, and 1988. Available file material does not indicate whether the Part B permit application has been approved.
The hydrogeologic units which underlie the air station include a surficial aquifer, an upper confining unit, the Yorktown aquifer, a lower confining unit, and the Castle Hayne aquifer. A discontinuity occurs in the confining units in the southern part of the air station. The air station is supplied by 24 wells located on site which draw from the Castle Hayne aquifer. Sampling in 1986, conducted by the US Geological Survey, indicated elevated concentrations of benzene, arsenic, lead, and nickel in air station drinking water wells.
Surface water runoff from source areas travels to Slocum Creek or its small tributaries, Turkey Gut and Schoolhouse Creek, which all drain into the Neuse River estuary. The Neuse River is a recreational and commercial fishery. Sediment samples collected from Slocum Creek, in 1987 and 1990, have documented PCB and arsenic contamination. Slocum Creek is a recreational fishery and a state-designated inland primary nursery area.
Status (December 1994): Remedial action is underway to remove PCB contaminated soil at sites I-5 and I-17. A Base-wide sampling plan has been prepared to identify areas in need of remediation. This sampling effort will lead to a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) and Record of Decision (ROD) for some areas.
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.