Old BIA site in Bethel set to begin next phase of hazardous waste cleanup

Cement is being crushed astatine nan aged Bureau of Indian Affairs office building astatine nan extremity of BIA Road successful Bethel connected Sept. 9, 2024. (Corinne Smith)

The Bethel Air Force Station is 1 of galore erstwhile subject sites successful Alaska that still incorporate untold amounts of hazardous waste. But this summer, nan decades-long cleanup of nan tract connected nan outskirts of nan Western Alaska metropolis took a measurement toward a greener future.

Recent visitors to nan tract of nan aged Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) office building astatine nan extremity of BIA Road successful Bethel whitethorn person noticed closure signs informing group of vulnerability to particulate from cement crushing.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) owns nan site, which astatine 1 constituent was portion of a overmuch larger analyzable operated by nan U.S. Air Force.

Robert McGinn, an biology compliance coordinator for USFWS, said that nan particulate contains silica, nan particulate matter that makes up concrete.

“When they’re crushing, visitors should enactment distant from that area owed to conveyance hazard and because of imaginable silica exposure,” McGinn said. “Silica is considered a known carcinogen erstwhile it’s good particulate and it’s successful nan air. Once it hits nan ungraded it would beryllium wetted, aliases it becomes mixed successful pinch soil, and it would not beryllium a hazard astatine that time.”

McGinn said that crews are expected to decorativeness nan crushing by nan extremity of October 2024, but that it is still a bully thought for group to err connected nan broadside of be aware erstwhile visiting nan adjacent area.

“I would say, I’d enactment arsenic acold distant from nan area arsenic possible,” McGinn said.

In caller years, thousands of pounds of materials containing highly hazardous polychlorinated biphenyls, aliases PCBs, and asbestos were removed from nan tract and shipped retired of Bethel. Both materials were erstwhile commonplace successful building building and successful galore products successful nan United States, but were clamped down connected by nan U.S. Environmental Protection Agency opening successful nan 1970s.

This summer, McGinn said that nan past of nan PCBs and asbestos were removed from nan tract done adjacent practice pinch nan Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), pursuing strict guidelines group by nan state.

“We are besides pursuing up by taking ungraded samples astatine nan slab area for thing that would person been of concern, that includes PCBs and asbestos, to make judge that location [are] nary further hazards,” McGinn said.

While nan astir vulnerable portion of nan cleanup process is complete, McGinn said that nan adjacent measurement could return aggregate years.

“The adjacent shape of this tract is to remediate a substance lipid spill that happened. In 1992, astir 106,000 gallons of substance lipid was spilled astatine this site. The Air Force cleaned up immoderate of nan substance oil, but because nan building was coming that could not beryllium cleaned up,” McGinn said.

Driving retired BIA Road is simply a circuit done nan decaying relics of nan city’s analyzable Cold War history. The monolithic White Alice antennas and overmuch of nan infrastructure installed erstwhile nan area was controlled by nan U.S. Air Force are agelong gone, but ample amounts of hazardous chemicals are believed to stay successful nan soil.

Keeping Bethel residents distant from nan area complete nan decades has not been easy. The roadworthy that leads location juts retired 2.5 miles onto nan tundra and provides premier entree for canine walkers, berry pickers, vertebrate hunters, overland travelers, and late-night revelers.

The silica particulate presently being generated astatine nan aged BIA tract is undoubtedly hazardous to breathe. But silica is not successful itself hazardous to consume, and is people occurring successful foods specified arsenic greenish beans, bananas, and brownish rice.

While silica is truthful improbable to contaminate berries successful nan adjacent area, nan effects of nan unrecovered diesel substance and different contaminants could travel to ray arsenic nan ungraded remediation is completed. In 1999, an analysis of crowberries conducted astatine nan tract by ADEC recovered nary grounds of diesel contamination.

McGinn said that astatine immoderate point, nan onshore containing nan aged BIA tract will beryllium transferred from USFWS to nan Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC), thing that has been successful nan useful for decades.

“It will beryllium turned complete to YKHC arsenic portion of an statement that was signed backmost successful nan 1990s,” McGinn said. “It was going to beryllium turned complete backmost successful 1992, but 2 weeks anterior to nan transportation is erstwhile nan building caught fire, and past that transportation ne'er occurred.”

The asbestos-laden building also caught occurrence successful 2018 and was near to pain retired complete nan people of aggregate days by then-Bethel Fire Chief Bill Howell, who decided that was nan safest option.

McGinn said that nan cleanable actual being crushed astatine nan tract will beryllium recycled astatine nan petition of nan BIA, perchance for usage successful roads and foundations astir town.