Re: Lead in Soil at Oakland Army Base

[Laura Olah <olah@speagle.com>]

kellere@oakland-smtp.army.mil wrote:
>
> Aimee,
>
> Please post the following response to Mr. Smith's message titled
> "CERCLA Exemptions".
> --------------------------
>
> Subject: Lead in soil at Oakland Army Base
>
> Please allow me to provide some additional information regarding the
> issues raised by Mr. Smith.
>
> One issue is the level of lead in soils, from automobile emissions,
> near the approach to the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge. The area

> in question is approximately 12 acres. During our preliminary
> assessment/site inspection (PA/SI) five locations in that area were
> sampled for metals. Five surface samples collected from the 0" to 6"
> depth contained an average lead concentration of 85 ppm with a range
> from 45 ppm to 129 ppm. Five shallow samples collected from the 12"
> to 18" depth contained an average lead concentration of 35 ppm with a
> range from 8 ppm to 64 ppm. Four additional samples were collected
> from depths greater than two feet. The average lead concentration for
> all fourteen samples collected was 81 ppm with a range from 8 ppm to
> 231 ppm.
>
> The US EPA Region IX Preliminary Remediation Goal (PRG) for lead in
> residential soil is 400 ppm. The California modified PRG for lead in
> residential soil is 130 ppm. Only one out of the fourteen samples
> collected (231 ppm) was above the 130 ppm California modified PRG.
> All of this information and much more is detailed in the draft PA/SI
> report. This report was distributed to the public and to the RAB
> technical review subcommittee last November, and is available at our
> information repositories.
>
> Hopefully this information gives you a good perspective of the local
> issues at Oakland Army Base. You may draw your own conclusions as to
> whether or not we have "significant amounts of lead in soils" or
> whether this poses a "long term environmental problem".
>
> Also, please keep in mind that this issue is not unique to Oakland
> Army Base. This issue is found in many communities across the
> country, especially those located adjacent to major roadways.
>
> The other issue raised is that of the presence of lead based paint in
> soils. This issue has been recognized and is currently a topic of
> discussion at the headquarters US EPA and Department of Defense level.
>
> If you would like any further information about our particular
> situation at Oakland Army Base, please don't hesitate to contact me.
>
> Respectfully,
> Edward Keller P.E.
> BRAC Environmental Coordinator
> Oakland Army Base, California
> (510)466-3226 Fax (510)466-2066
> E-Mail kellere@oakland-smtp.army.mil

Mr. Keller,
The approved cleanup for lead in soils at the local base is 30 ppm; this
number is also consistent with Chronic Toxicological Benchmarks for
plants. I think it's best to look at natural background levels -- one
can always find a report, a mathematical formula or guidance document
with a number higher or lower, depending on which side of the argument
one would like to win.

Laura Olah, Executive Director
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger
E12629 Weigand's Bay South
Merrimac, Wisconsin 53561
olah@speagle.com
Phone (608)643-3124 Fax (608)643-0005
Website http://www.speagle.com/cswab