Page 12 of the PAERAB's Winter 2011 TAPP Contractor Newsletter

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Text Box: proceed – either by finding a solution for the MEC that need to be removed or by allowing a cover to be put in place in the affected area. Brief discussion ensued regarding the possibility of expediting the resolution process by seeking the assistance of individuals such as the base commander, General Maddux, and/or Congressman Frelinghuysen. Since then the board had been informed in an e-mail from Mr. Ted Gabel dated February 23, 2011 of the following recent developments: “...contractors with the Baltimore Corps have now remobilized ... conducting the initial steps to implement Time Critical Removal Action for the remaining few acres of the recent Tilcon Time Critical Removal Action (TCRA) or Tilcon3. As you recall the action was stopped in Spring of last year because of the safety concerns. The concerns have been addressed. Attached for your information is the Workplan Addendum that has been revised to reflect changes to the detonation process for the TCRA. The detonation procedures as outlined in the Explosive Safety Submittal have been approved by the Corps, the USACTES and DDESB. The intrusive work should begin by the middle of next week.” As the meeting progressed the Weston-Pirnie team explained their sampling rationale for each of the MRSs. They expect to issue a Final Work Plan that will be available to the public in the summer of 2011. Until then the plans discussed at the meeting are considered draft and not available for public release.

Text Box: MMRP MEC Characterization Tools Of particular interest to the participants of the MMRP technical project meeting were the analytical tools and methodologies expected to be used to formulate the MEC sampling strategy. Two statistical tools are expected to be used as part of the RI Work Plan to devise quantities and locations within a given area, as follows: UXO Estimator Visual Sample Plan (VSP) - developed by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Information about VSP can be found at http://vsp.pnl.gov. This program was developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory through the auspices of the DOE. It is claimed that VSP is useful for other applications besides the mapping of UXO sites. According to the above cited website VSP is intended to address the following questions: how many samples are needed, where should samples be taken, what decisions do the data support, and how confident should one be about those decisions. As a result, VSP has already been employed at some of the MRSs to develop “sampling plans at MRSs with potential MEC releases where locations are unknown.” In addition VSP was used to develop “transect spacing to guarantee with a specific confidence a pre-determined size and shaped MEC release is traversed and detected.” The UXO Estimator is used to develop “sampling plans at MRSs with a homogeneous distribution of MEC” and it “determines investigation area based on MEC density and selected confidence level (95% for PTA MMRP RI).” [ Picatinny Arsenal : PTA ] The Army Team clarifies that 95% was

Text Box: the value proposed in the TPP1 ( Site understanding and initial evaluation ) phase but that this particular value may in fact be revised. There was considerable discussion at the meeting regarding how the two programs are to be applied and the significance of the results. The USACE suggested that a training program be conducted to give participants a greater understanding of the tools. Several MMRP training sessions had been conducted locally in the past including ones attended by PAERAB Community members and by the board’s TAPP Consultant. The USACE expects to invite representatives of Picatinny Arsenal and the regulatory agencies; a date for the training was not established at the meeting. Work plans, reports, and data are included in the PAERAB’s online archive at www.paerab.us. This website provides convenient access to public information for all board members and interested citizens.

MMRP KICKOFF MEETING (CONT’D FROM P. 7)