Lake City Army Ammunition Plant

The Problem

Industrial operations at Lake City AAP include military manufacturing, assembly, storage and test firing. These operations produced large amounts of hazardous wastes and hazardous substances, which contaminated groundwater, surface water and soils. Other site operations include wastewater treatment; hazardous waste storage, treatment and disposal; municipal/industrial solid waste and sludge disposal; and incineration/ demilitarization. In the past, some of these operations generated hazardous waste, which was released into the environment. 

Contaminants of Concern

Contaminants at the site include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), explosives, asbestos siding, construction debris, roofing tar and materials, perchlorates, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals.

What’s Been Done

Past releases resulted in five operable units (OUs) for environmental cleanup.

• OU-1 Installation-wide: Long-term remedies include land use controls to prohibit non-industrial uses; monitored natural attenuation and long-term monitoring; groundwater extraction and air stripping; and in-place treatment. 
• OU-2 Area 18: Soil vapor extraction and treatment, in-situ groundwater treatment, groundwater extraction and treatment, shallow soil excavation, in-situ soil stabilization, institutional controls and long-term monitoring.
• OU-3 Northeast Corner: Groundwater extraction and treatment, vegetated soil cover, restored disturbed areas and ongoing monitoring.
• OU-4 Area 10: Contaminated sand piles removed and “no further action” determination made.
• OU-5 Building 83: In August 2015, the Army prepared the final engineering evaluation and cost analysis. The chosen remedy was chemical deactivation of explosives contamination and typical demolition procedures for the building. OU-5 became part of OU-1 after the remedy was implemented.

What’s Left

Cleanup, operation and maintenance activities and monitoring continue.

• OU-1: Continue long-term monitoring and institutional controls
• OU-2: Continue groundwater treatment, long-term monitoring and institutional controls
• OU-3: Enhance and broaden the scope of groundwater treatment; continue long-term monitoring and institutional controls
• OU-4: Maintain institutional controls

Looking to the Future

Lake City AAP is the only major small arms manufacturing facility for the U.S. Army. There is no plan to alter this critical mission. Future land use will remain industrial at each of the OUs and facility manufacturing areas. Land-use restrictions implemented by the Army will remain in place, with the intent of retaining control of the land for manufacturing and other industrial or commercial purposes.

Site Description

The Lake City AAP site is located on 3,935 acres at the intersection of Highways 7 and 78, between Independence and Blue Springs, in eastern Jackson County. In 1941, the Remington Arms Co. established the plant to manufacture and test small caliber ammunition for the U.S. Army. Lake City AAP is the largest small arms (5.56 - 20 mm) manufacturing plant in the world. With the exception of the five-year period between the end of World War II and the beginning of the conflict with Korea, this government-owned, contractor-operated facility has been in continuous production since October 1941. Lake City AAP continues to produce munitions for the nation’s military services today.

Industrial operations at the site include military manufacturing, assembly, storage, and test firing. An active outdoor range (Area 27) is located at the plant where small arms ammunition is tested. Other site operations included wastewater treatment; hazardous waste storage, treatment and disposal; municipal and industrial solid waste and sludge disposal; and incineration/ demilitarization.

The Problem

Operations at Lake City AAP produced large amounts of hazardous wastes and hazardous substances, including oil, grease, solvents, explosives and metals. Ammunition testing included limited depleted uranium rounds, in addition to spent lead bullets and other metals constituents. Historic waste handling and disposal practices of hazardous substances lead to contaminated groundwater, surface water and soils. Contaminants at the site include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), explosives, asbestos siding, construction debris, roofing tar and materials, perchlorates, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals. Lake City AAP was placed on the Superfund National Priorities List on Aug. 21, 1987. 

Environmental Restoration

During the cleanup process, a site can be divided into a number of distinct areas depending on its complexity. These areas, called operable units (OUs), may address geographic areas, specific problems, or areas where a specific action is required. Five OUs were originally established at Lake City AAP for environmental cleanup. OU-5 was later incorporated into OU-1 and is no longer a separate OU. OUs 1, 2 and 3 are in the long-term remedy stage. Every five years, the remedies are evaluated to confirm the remedies put in place protect public health and the environment and function as intended. Some OUs include institutional controls as part of the long-term remedy. The following actions have been implemented at the site to ensure protectiveness of human health and the environment:

• Ensure activities or future land uses at OUs comply with the restrictions established in the land use control implementation plan
• Prohibit excavation, construction and any other activities that would compromise the integrity of any protective structures or the proper operation of remediation systems, or that result in unacceptable exposure to contaminants in soil or groundwater
• Prohibit access to or use of untreated contaminated groundwater, except for limited use for remedial activities and investigative monitoring, including the shallow groundwater system above and all groundwater systems beneath the contaminated groundwater
• Prohibit developing the OUs for residential housing, schools (K-12), childcare facilities and playgrounds and any other uses inconsistent with the assumptions used in the risk assessments
• Ensure that routine activities required to maintain the integrity of remedial systems are performed, including inspections and maintenance, to prevent damage or unauthorized modifications

OU-1: Installation-wide

OU-1 consists of 30 areas of concern. Contaminants detected in soil and groundwater include VOCs, SVOCs, metals, asbestos and petroleum tar. Long-term remedies include land use controls to prohibit non-industrial uses, monitored natural attenuation and long-term monitoring, groundwater extraction and air stripping, and in-place treatment.

Long-term remedies are being implemented, including institutional controls to prohibit non-industrial land uses, monitored natural attenuation and long-term monitoring, groundwater extraction and air stripping, and in-place treatment. Natural attenuation involves a variety of physical, chemical or biological in-place processes that, under favorable conditions, act without human intervention to reduce the mass, toxicity, mobility, volume or concentration of contaminants in groundwater. Several five-year reviews of the site’s remedies have been conducted. The most recent review concluded that the selected remedy continues to be protective of human health and the environment in the short-term. Continued protectiveness of the environment requires maintenance of vegetative covers.

OU-2: Area 18

OU-2 is a 167-acre area in the north-central portion of Lake City AAP were chlorinated solvents were disposed in earthen pits. Dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) and dissolved VOCs and SVOCs were detected in groundwater coming from the disposal pits. Additionally, PCBs and lead were detected in surface soils. Soil vapor extraction and treatment; in-situ groundwater treatment, extraction and treatment; shallow soil excavation; and in-situ soil stabilization was performed. The long-term remedy includes groundwater treatment through in-situ injections that stimulate groundwater microbes to degrade the contaminants to non-toxic substances, groundwater extraction and treatment, institutional controls to limit future site use and long-term monitoring.

OU-3: Northeast Corner

OU-3 consists of three areas of concern and 14 sub-areas of concern. Area 11 contains one sub-area, Area 16 contains seven sub-areas and Area 17 contains six sub-areas. Contamination in OU-3 resulted from past waste disposal activities into landfills, lagoons, pits, burn areas, sumps and impoundments, and open burning of explosives and waste. The main soil and groundwater contaminants are VOCs, base neutral/ acid extractable compounds, explosives and metals. The long-term remedy for the former solid waste disposal and burning area includes groundwater treatment through in-situ injections to stimulate groundwater microbes to degrade the contaminants to non-toxic substances, a vegetated soil cover, restoring disturbed areas and ongoing monitoring. Institutional controls restrict on-site worker access to contaminated soil. To broaden the scope of groundwater treatment, improvements in treatment will be made. Treating groundwater contaminant source areas may be proposed.

OU-4: Area 10

Area 10 includes three acres within an active firing range in the east-central part of Lake City AAP; the U.S. Army has no plans to stop firing operations. Historically, this area was used to dispose waste material from firing ranges, including depleted uranium rounds from the Area 27 bullet catchers. Contaminated sand piles were removed from Area 10 (former radioactive munitions waste disposal area) in 2008. The Army declared a “no further action” remedy for the area in 2009. The selected remedy for Area 10 is protective of human health and the environment. 

What’s Left

The Army will continue to operate site remedies, maintain institutional controls and monitor the groundwater. 

• OU-1: Continue long-term monitoring and institutional controls
• OU-2: Continue groundwater treatment, long-term monitoring and institutional controls
• OU-3: Enhance and broaden the scope of groundwater treatment; continue long-term monitoring and institutional controls
• OU-4: Maintain institutional controls

The fourth five-year review was completed on Sept. 4, 2020. The purpose of five-year reviews is to evaluate site remedies to determine the protectiveness of the entire site remedy for the long-term. Five-year reviews are required for any remedy that results in any hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant remaining at the site above levels that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure. The 2020 five-year review identified several remedy issues, which the U.S. Army is addressing.

Community Involvement 

On Jan. 15, 2013, the charter for the Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) was signed. The RAB has been the main method of public participation at Lake City AAP. The RAB meets twice a year to discuss ongoing environmental cleanup at the site. In addition to community members, the RAB includes representatives from the U.S. Army, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the department. The RAB is the place where information is exchanged between the community and agency members. RAB meetings are open to the public and are held at Lake City AAP or the Mid-Continent Library's North Independence Branch. The library also houses the administrative record, which contains the community involvement plan for the site.

Looking to the Future

As the only major small arms manufacturing facility for the U.S. Army, there is no plan to alter the Lake City AAP's critical mission. Future land use will remain industrial at each of the OUs. It is unlikely that Lake City AAP will be used for anything other than industrial and non-residential purposes. Land-use restrictions were implemented by the Army, with the intent of retaining control of the land for manufacturing and other industrial or commercial purposes.