Hazardous Waste Program

U.S. Department of Energy - Kansas City Plant

EPA ID# MO9890010524

DNR Contact:      Don Dicks, 573-751-3553 or 800-361-4827
EPA Contact:      Robert Aston, Jr., RG, 913-551-7392 or 800-223-0425
Facility Contact:  David Caughey, 816-997-3449
Last Updated:      April 13, 2012

What’s New

Draft Class 3 Permit Modifications Prepared: On Sept. 1, 2011, the Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. General Service Administration (GSA) submitted a Class 3 Permit Modification request to the department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 7, requesting to modify DOE's existing Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Facility Part I Permit and Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments Part II Permit. After a thorough technical review of the permit modification requests, the department and EPA prepared draft hazardous waste permit modifications. A public availability session and public hearing about the draft permit modifications were held May 15, at the IBEW Local 124 Union Hall in Kansas City, Missouri. The department and EPA will continue to accept written comments on the draft permit modifications until May 29.

DOE and GSA are proposing to modify both permits to include the entire Bannister Federal Complex, including the property owned by GSA, on the permits and include GSA as a permittee. The permit modification request also included items such as preparing a Description of Current Conditions Report and a Risk Screening to summarize current environmental conditions at the federal complex, revising the Community Relations Plan, conducting a Polychlorinated Biphenyl fate and transport study and updating their groundwater monitoring and pumping system and revising the point of compliance wells, as illustrated in the following maps and table:

The department prepared the draft Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Facility Part I Permit Modifications. EPA prepared the draft Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments Part II Permit Modifications. The draft permit modifications propose to allow DOE and GSA to implement ongoing corrective action activities at the entire contiguous portion of the BFC under one set of comprehensive hazardous waste permits.

The public can review and copy the Part I Permit Modification request, Part II Permit Modification request, Response to Modification Request Comments, draft Part I Permit Modifications, draft Part II Permit Modifications, Fact Sheet and supporting documents at the locations above. Comments on the draft permit modifications are more effective if they point out legal or technical issues. Only the conditions being modified are open for public comment. All other conditions of the original permits will remain in effect until the permit renewal under review is finalized and the permit is reissued. You may submit written comments on the draft Part I Permit Modifications online or send comments by mail to Donald L. Dicks, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Hazardous Waste Program, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176. Written comments on the draft Part II Permit Modifications may be submitted by email or sent by mail to Robert Aston, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 7, Waste Remediation and Permitting Branch, 901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101.

The following flowcharts illustrate the process and give a conservative timeline for these permit modification requests and the investigation and cleanup of the site:

Facility Description

The U.S. Department of Energy-Kansas City Plant is located on about 136 acres of the 300-acre Bannister Federal Complex, located at 2000 E. 95th St. in Kansas City, Missouri. The federal complex is approximately 13 miles south of downtown Kansas City, within the incorporated city limits. The federal complex is bordered on the north by Legacy Park, east by the Blue River and the Blue River Parkway, south by Indian Creek and Bannister Road and west by Troost Ave.

Before World War II, the area of the federal complex was mainly farm land. In 1942, the U.S. Navy built the main manufacturing building at the site. The Department of Defense also built a landfill on part of the property to be used as a disposal site for the Bannister Federal Complex. From 1943 to 1945, Pratt and Whitney Corp. built aircraft engines in the main manufacturing building for the U.S. Navy in support of World War II.  

In 1948, the main manufacturing building was declared excess to defense requirements and turned over to the War Assets Administration. The War Assets Administration used the building for a short time as a warehouse and housing for several private and governmental operations. In 1948, the building was transferred to the Department of the Navy, which leased part of the building to Westinghouse Electric Co. From 1948 until their lease was cancelled in 1961, Westinghouse built jet engines at in the main manufacturing building for the U.S. Navy in support of the Korean Conflict.

In 1949, Westinghouse subleased part of the main manufacturing building to Bendix Corp. Bendix was contracted by the Atomic Energy Commission to manufacture electrical, mechanical, plastic and other non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons. From 1984 to 1999, Bendix merged with Allied Corp., who merged with Signal Corp. and became Allied Signal Inc., who bought Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies LLC.

In 1964, the landfill was closed and the property was transferred to the General Services Administration. GSA manages government assets, including government-owned and leased buildings. GSA operated a warehouse in the western part of the building. The Atomic Energy Commission continued operating what is now known as the Kansas City Plant in their part of the building until the Commission was abolished in 1974. In 1975, the Energy Research and Development Administration was created and took custody and control of the Kansas City Plant in 1976. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was created in 1977 and the Kansas City Plant was included in the new department. DOE continued operating the Kansas City Plant and took ownership of their part of the building. In 2000, DOE created the National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, in part, to strengthen national security and reduce the global threat from weapons of mass destruction.

The Bannister Federal Complex Map icon. is currently owned by two agencies: DOE/NNSA and GSA. The Kansas City Plant is owned by DOE/NNSA and operated by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies LLC. GSA owns the remaining portions of the complex and leases space to other federal agencies; including the Internal Revenue Service, Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, and U.S. Marine Corps.

The Kansas City Plant currently employs about 2,600 staff and continues to manufacture electrical, mechanical, plastic and other non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons. Acids, alkalines, solvents, acid and alkaline contaminated solid waste, solid debris waste, waste oil, wastewater treatment sludges and toxic metals are stored on site under generator storage requirements until they are either treated at the Kansas City Plant’s industrial wastewater pretreatment facility or shipped off-site to a permitted hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facility.  The Kansas City Plant currently has six hazardous waste container storage areas and three contingent areas. The Kansas City Plant also uses small amounts of radioactive materials in products and uses conventional, sealed industrial radioactive sources for instrument calibration, radiography and laboratory equipment. These processes occasionally produce mixed waste, which is stored in one area on-site until shipped off site.

DOE/NNSA is preparing to move the Kansas City Plant to a location about eight miles south of the Bannister Federal Complex. The move is expected to begin in January 2013, with DOE/NNSA being completely vacated from the federal complex by 2014. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is coordinating with DOE/NNSA on the design specifications for the new facility.

Post-Closure and Corrective Action Status

There are three closed hazardous waste management units located at the Kansas City Plant, two lagoons and an underground tank farm. DOE closed the north and south lagoons by removing the contaminated sediment, backfilling with uncontaminated soil and covering with a clay cap, topsoil and vegetation. The underground tank farm consisted of 28 tanks and associated underground piping and stored fuels, coolants and solvents. DOE closed the tank farm by removing all tanks, associated piping, concrete supports and fill to a depth of about 15 feet below ground surface. The area was then backfilled with uncontaminated soil and covered with a clay cap, topsoil and vegetation. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources accepted DOE’s closure report and certification for the hazardous waste management units; however, because of historical release of hazardous waste, the area is also required to go through a period of post-closure care. As part of the post-closure care, NNSA is required to monitor the groundwater and inspect and, if necessary, repair the clay caps.

As part of the corrective action process, all interim status and permitted hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities are also required to investigate and clean up hazardous waste and hazardous constituent releases at their facility resulting from present and past hazardous waste handling practices. There are two known historical releases of polychlorinated biphenyls, both from Department 26, which produced plastic in the southeast corner of the main manufacturing building. PCBs were used in transformers, other electrical equipment, hydraulic oil, caulking compounds and elastic sealant. In 1969, an expansion joint failed and released approximately 1,500 gallons of PCB oil to a gravel area. About 900 gallons of the PCB oil entered the storm sewer system and released to Indian Creek through the old 002 Outfall. Despite clean up efforts at the time of the spill, residual PCBs remained in the creek bottom sediments. Shortly after the spill, Indian Creek was rerouted and the PCB contamination was left in place alongside and underneath the box culvert. In 1971, about 1,100 gallons of PCBs were released to the ground outside Department 26, near a storm water drain. Some of the PCBs entered the storm sewer system and released to Indian Creek through the newly installed box culvert near the new 002 Outfall. This area of contamination, known as the 95th Terrace site, is located south of the main manufacturing building in the former Indian Creek channel. The 95th Terrace site is bordered to the south by Indian Creek and is partially located on property owned by the Missouri Department of Transportation.

PCBs were banned by EPA in 1979 and PCB replacement was not required in existing equipment. PCBs are common in cooling systems, transformers, capacitors, electrical equipment, oils, caulking compounds and elastic sealant. DOE replaced the PCB heat transfer piping and oil in 1986; however, materials made before the PCB ban, such as sealant and transformers, are still in use at the Kansas City Plant and other locations in the area.

Cleanup of the Kansas City Plant began in 1983, but most corrective action activity was initiated in 1989 with an EPA Consent Order. On June 23, 1989, DOE voluntarily entered into a 3008(h) Corrective Action Administrative Order on Consent with EPA, Docket No. VII-89-H-0026. The order initially listed 35 solid waste management units as possible release sites, including the two closed lagoons and underground tank farm. The order directed the investigation and corrective action activities at the facility until 1999, during which time eight more solid waste management units were identified. Releases from the underground tank farm, a trichloroethylene reclamation facility, a plating building and other industrial practices resulted in soil contamination and large groundwater plumes containing solvents and petroleum products.

On Oct. 6, 1999, the department and EPA issued two hazardous waste permits to DOE for the Kansas City Plant. The department issued a Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Facility Part I Permit and EPA issued a Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments Part II Permit. These permits transferred the oversight responsibility and authority for the investigation and corrective action activities from EPA to the department. EPA terminated their Order on Dec. 30, 1999, and the corrective action process continued under Part I Permit.

Many of the solid waste management units on the DOE/NNSA portion of the federal complex were grouped together for further investigation and cleanup due to their close proximity to each other and the type of contamination. NNSA is currently performing post-closure, corrective action and long-term stewardship activities for the Kansas City Plant under Missouri’s EPA-authorized hazardous waste program, which is equivalent to the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA, with the department providing primary regulatory oversight. For enforcement and compliance history for the Kansas City Plant, please visit EPA's Enforcement & Compliance History Online database, or ECHO.  

NNSA is in the final remedy operating, maintenance and monitoring stage for all contaminated areas currently under their responsibility. The Kansas City Plant part of the federal complex is restricted to industrial use only, and the groundwater cannot be used for any purpose. Groundwater is currently treated by an ultraviolet light-hydrogen peroxide system. Groundwater is collected from interceptor wells, footing tile drains and Outfall 002, treated and discharged to the local sewage treatment plant. As part of the approved final remedy for the 95th Terrace site, NNSA is required to inspect and maintain the box culvert under Bannister Road, the signs at the outfall and the protective cage over the concrete chute entering Indian Creek. NNSA is also required to sample surface water, sediment and fish tissue in Indian Creek and the Blue River for PCBs. Fish tissue was sampled for PCBs in 2005 and 2007, and is planned for 2013.  

GSA is currently performing environmental cleanup activities on their portion of the site under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or CERCLA, with EPA providing regulatory oversight. Additional information about the GSA portion of the Bannister Federal Complex, including legacy environmental issues, is available on GSA's website. Additional information about this cleanup effort is available on EPA’s website.

The landfill, located on the GSA part of the federal complex, was closed in 1964. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for performing the environmental investigation and cleanup of the landfill under the Formerly Used Defenses Sites Program, with the department providing regulatory oversight. The presence of solvents has been confirmed in the groundwater in the vicinity of the landfill. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing their investigation. Additional information about this cleanup effort is available on the department’s Federal Facilities website.

The Corrective Action Timeline illustrates the process and gives a conservative timeline for the investigation and cleanup of the site, based on the Sept. 1, 2011 permit modification requests.

Hazardous Waste Permit Status

DOE is conducting post-closure and corrective action activities at the Kansas City Plant under a department-issued Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Facility Part I Permit, effective Oct. 6, 1999. At the same time, EPA issued a Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments Part II Permit to cover regulatory requirements Missouri had either not yet adopted or adopted but not yet received EPA authorization. These permits require DOE to perform post-closure care for the three closed hazardous waste management units: the North Lagoon, South Lagoon and Underground Tank Farm, as well as operate, maintain and monitor all corrective action final remedies on the DOE part of the federal complex.

DOE submitted a timely permit application on April 7, 2009, for renewal of their existing hazardous waste permits, which expired Oct. 6, 2009. State regulations allow the existing hazardous waste permits to continue in effect until the department and EPA issue or deny new hazardous waste permits.