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Alaska
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
Agency spokesmen address NIKE site concerns
By RINDI WHITE-Frontiersman reporter

KNIK -- Although new information is still forthcoming, pending a wrap-up 
of testing data performed by a contractor with Knik Tribal Council, 
representatives from two government agencies were on hand last week to 
speak to concerns from residents living in the area of the Point 
MacKenzie Goose Bay former nuclear missle launch site.

Army Corps of Engineers project manager Robert Johnson and Alaska 
Department of Environmental Conservation's John Halverson were on hand 
Thursday at a joint meeting of the Point MacKenzie and Knik Fairview 
Loop Community Councils. The two discussed some of the preliminary 
findings from testing done by Portage Environmental during the summer. 
Although the results of the tests are only in draft form, Halverson and 
Johnson expressed concerns about some of the findings.

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyl, were found in the landfill area at 
the site. The colorless, odorless viscous liquid is used in various 
industrial processes and doesn't lose toxicity over time, as many other 
pollutants do.

"There were two out of 10 sediment samples along that pond [near the 
landfill site] that had measurable levels of PCBs," Halverson said. 
"PCBs are chemicals that don't degrade over time. And they do migrate 
through the food chain."

Although property owners were concerned about possible well-water 
contamination by PCBs, Halverson said property owners have less to worry 
about than the state does.

"The groundwater flow in the area is going to be generally toward the 
inlet," Halverson said.

Although evidence of PCBs is never reassuring, Halverson and Johnson 
said the levels in the preliminary testing data were well below levels 
considered hazardous. One part per million, Halverson said, is the 
minimum amount needed to close a surface well and mandate cleanup. The 
preliminary data available indicated 41 parts per billion were found at 
a beaver dam area on the site. In another site, about 15 parts per 
billion were found.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2002/12/10/news/news4.txt

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