Keeping Alaska clean: Superfund and FUD sites, left polluted from practices of the past, are still undergoing cleanup and will for many more years.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Position: Formerly used defense

Alaska is known for its cool, clean air, its pristine streams and rivers, and its acres upon acres of unsullied land. And this reputation for having such a spectacular environment is one that the people of Alaska work very hard to protect.

As more of the Last Frontier is developed, regulations have been put into place to ensure that as progress is made, its results do not harm the state's environment or adversely affect the people, including Native tribes, who live off the land. These pro-active environmental efforts also include the remediation of certain military and industrial sites, polluted decades before, which are now the focus of intensive cleanup efforts.

SUPERFUND SITES

Back in December 1980, Congress created Superfund as part of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) as a way to eliminate the health and environmental threats posed by hazardous waste sites throughout the nation. Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, Superfund uses government funds to clean up the nation's worst hazardous waste sites, which are identified on a National Priorities List (NPL). In Alaska, these sites currently include Adak Naval Air Station in Adak; Arctic Surplus and Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks; Elmendorf Air Force Base, Fort Richardson and Standard Steel & Metals Salvage Yard in Anchorage; and Fort Wainwright, near Fairbanks.

"We started cleaning up Superfund sites in Alaska in the 1990s, and at this point, most of these projects are pretty mature," explained Jacques Gusmano, remedial program manager, Superfund, EPA Anchorage. "Most of them now have treatment systems in place and we're in the final years of cleanup. The toxic and volatile chemicals are gone, and we're working to clean up residual contaminants, like lower level PCBs and heavy-end petroleum products."

Though much of the original work was "dig and haul," especially in the more remote sites, much of today's cleanup is done through vapor extraction of "sparging," which is when air is blown into an aquifer to promote the growth of natural bacteria. "While the technologies that we are using are not new and have previously been used in aquariums and wastewater treatment plants, they have been enhanced over the years to become even more effective at breaking down contaminants," said Gusmano.

Every five years, Superfund sites are reviewed to see how the cleanup is progressing, and Gusmano says that Alaska is well on its way to reaching its goals. "Alaska Battery Enterprises in Fairbanks has been deleted from the NPL and Standard Steel in Anchorage is closed," he said. "I expect that Arctic Surplus in...